![](https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shutterstock_1383503060-e1621502625184.jpg)
Ryanair notched up the first wins in its campaign to topple billions of euros of COVID-19 bailouts for rival carriers after European Union judges faulted EU regulators for failing to properly check whether aid was justified, reported Bloomberg.
The EU General Court, the bloc’s second-highest tribunal, on Wednesday, May 19, overturned the European Commission’s approval of a €3.4 billion (US$4.2 billion) Dutch subsidy to Air France-KLM and €1.2 billion offered by Portugal to TAP SGPS.
But rather than order the repayment of subsidies, judges gave regulators the chance to re-examine the cases and fix any procedural flaws. Ryanair on Wednesday lost a separate challenge to a €10 billion Spanish fund for local carriers.
Ryanair has filed more than two dozen challenges to EU approvals for pandemic aid doled out by governments to carriers, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM. The Irish low-cost carrier, which has lost five of the challenges so far, argued that the aid for selected airlines creates an unfair advantage and will help rivals to emerge stronger, slash fares, and swallow up others.
Ryanair said in a statement that the two rulings in its favor were “an important victory for consumers and competition,” calling the EU’s aid approvals “discriminatory,” risking distortion to markets “for decades to come.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
House Oversight Panel to Probe Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ Role in Rising Healthcare Costs
Jul 16, 2024 by
CPI
Spanish Train Maker Talgo Receives Merger Offer from Czech Rival Skoda
Jul 16, 2024 by
CPI
Yandex Finalizes $5.4 B Asset Split, Marking Major Corporate Exit and Birth of New AI Venture
Jul 16, 2024 by
CPI
Tesla Switches Legal Teams in California Antitrust Class Action, Court Records Reveal
Jul 16, 2024 by
CPI
Citigroup Fined $136 Million for Insufficient Progress on Data Management Issues
Jul 16, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Private Equity Roll-Up Schemes
Jun 28, 2024 by
CPI
The FTC’s Focus on Private Equity is Warranted
Jun 28, 2024 by
CPI
Unraveling the Roll-Up: Private Equity’s Misunderstood Investment Strategy
Jun 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Focus on Private Equity Funds and Serial Acquisitions
Jun 28, 2024 by
CPI
Private Equity Roll-Ups Amidst Heightened Antitrust Enforcement
Jun 28, 2024 by
CPI