2024-09-10 10:44:26
The EU Commission decides that Ryanair and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport must repay around 15 million euros in state aid. The verdict is distortion of competition.
Following a decision by the EU Commission, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport and the airline Ryanair must repay around 15 million euros in state aid due to distortion of competition. Specifically, this involves 13 to 14 million for Ryanair and 1.25 million for the airport, the EU Commission further announced.
In addition, interest is due because some of the measures were implemented years ago. The decisions for the support measures were reportedly made between 2005 and 2017.
According to the information, the issue is that Rhineland-Palatinate had given a piece of land to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport without being compensated for it. Ryanair had benefited from marketing agreements and training aid. The aim of repaying the money is to restore a level playing field.
In the EU, strict rules apply when a state wants to support domestic companies with financial injections. This is intended to prevent, for example, a financially strong country such as Germany from giving its companies a disproportionate advantage and thus forcing competitors out of the market.