European Court of Justice upholds Condor state aid approval

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Ryanair against the European Commission regarding state aid granted to the German airline Condor. The ruling confirms the legality of 321 million euros in aid intended to support Condor during its restructuring following the insolvency of its former parent company, Thomas Cook.

While the ECJ overturned a previous lower court ruling that had favored Ryanair, the legal challenges for the budget carrier are not entirely over. A separate proceeding is ongoing regarding 3.4 billion euros in state aid for the Dutch airline KLM. The court must still determine how to weigh the benefits to the parent company, Air France-KLM, when assessing whether such aid complies with EU competition rules.