Ryanair Holdings vindicated by EU court decision on Lufthansa Covid rescue

A European Union court upheld Ryanair Holdings challenge of Berlin's 2020 €6.0bn recapitalisation of rival Lufthansa.

The EU's General Court found that the European Commission made "several errors" in its evaluation.

The court also believed that Lufthansa could have obtained all of the financing that it required on the markets.

Nevertheless, the decision's impact was expected to be scant as the company had already repaid the German government and Berlin had since sold the 20% stake that it had taken.

During the depths of Covid-19, Lufthansa wa given approximately €9.0bn in state aid.

German authorities also took two silent participations in the company's capital to the tune of €4.7bn and €1.0bn.

In exchange, Lufthansa committed to giving up 24 slots a day at the Frankfurt and Munich airports in order to offset distortions to competition from the rescue package.

It was also banned from paying any dividends or carrying out share repurchases until the aid was repaid.