European justice cancels the authorization of a vast rescue plan of Lufthansa

The Court of First Instance of the European Union canceled, Tuesday, May 9, a recapitalization of Lufthansa by Germany. This plan, worth 6 billion euros, aimed to save the company during the Covid-19 pandemic. The European Commission, which had validated this recapitalization, “made several mistakes”including that of considering that Lufthansa “was unable to finance itself on the markets” to meet his needs, says the authority. The Court had been seized by the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Condor, who wanted to have the Commission’s decision annulled.

The concrete impact of this judgement, which can still be appealed, remains uncertain because the aid mechanism for the airline has already been implemented. The German state thus sold in September the last shares it still held in the capital of Lufthansa, where it had entered up to 20% in 2020. The company is therefore once again entirely in the hands of private shareholders.

Lufthansa “will analyze the verdict and then decide how to proceed”, reacted the group. The carrier recalls that it has already “fully reimbursed the stabilization measures approved by the European Commission, as well as approximately 92 million euros in interest”. The Brussels executive, which has not yet reacted, can appeal against this decision before the European Court of Justice, judge of last instance.