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Brussels – The German airport Frankfurt-Hahn and the airline Ryanair must repay around 15 million euros in state aid due to a decision by the EU Commission on the grounds of distortion of competition. Specifically, it concerns 1.25 million for the airport and 13 to 14 million for Ryanair, as the EU Commission announced.
Additionally, interest is due, as the measures date back several years. The decisions for the support measures were made between 2005 and 2017 according to the information.
According to the information, this involves, for example, the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate having transferred a property to the Frankfurt-Hahn airport without being compensated for it. Ryanair benefited from marketing agreements and a training aid. The repayment of the money is intended to restore competition equality.
In the EU, strict rules apply when a state wants to support domestic companies with financial injections. This is to prevent, for example, a financially strong country like Germany from giving its companies a disproportionate advantage and thus driving competition out of the market. (September 9)