Judgment of the General Court of 20 December 2023 – Ryanair and Malta Air v Commission (Air France-KLM and Air France; COVID-19)
(Case T-494/21) 1
(State aid – Aid granted by France to Air France and Air France-KLM in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic – Recapitalisation – Decision declaring the aid compatible with the internal market – Action for annulment – Locus standi – Substantial adverse effect on the applicant’s position on the market – Admissibility – Determination of the beneficiary of the aid in the context of a group of companies)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicants: Ryanair DAC (Swords, Ireland), Malta Air ltd. (Pietà, Malta) (represented by: F.-C. Laprévote, E. Vahida, V. Blanc, S. Rating, I.-G. Metaxas-Maranghidis and D. Pérez de Lamo, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: L. Flynn, J. Carpi Badía and C. Georgieva, acting as Agents)
Interveners in support of the defendant: Federal Republic of Germany (represented by: P.-L. Krüger and J. Möller, acting as Agents), French Republic (represented by: A.-L. Desjonquères, P. Dodeller, T. Stéhelin, B. Fodda and T. Lechevallier, acting as Agents), Kingdom of the Netherlands (represented by: M. Bulterman, C. Schillemans and J. Langer, acting as Agents, and by S. Corrijn, lawyer), Air France-KLM (Paris, France) (represented by: J. Derenne and D. Vallindas, lawyers), Société Air France (Tremblay-en-France, France) (represented by: J. Derenne and D. Vallindas, lawyers)
Re:
By their action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicants seek the annulment of Commission Decision C(2021) 2488 final of 5 April 2021 on State Aid SA.59913 – France – COVID-19 – Recapitalisation of Air France and the Air France–KLM Holding.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls Commission Decision C(2021) 2488 final of 5 April 2021 on State Aid SA.59913 – France – COVID-19 – Recapitalisation of Air France and the Air France-KLM Holding;
Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those of Ryanair DAC and Malta Air ltd.;
Orders the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Air France-KLM and Société Air France to bear their own costs.
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1 OJ C 391, 27.9.2021.