The EU Court of Justice dismisses two actions brought by an airline company against the Commission’s approval of State aid schemes supporting airlines holding national licences during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ryanair)

In May 2020, Ryanair brought two separate actions against the EC approval of a Swedish [1] and a French [2] State aid scheme supporting airlines holding national licences under Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and Article 107(2)(b) TFEU respectively. On 17 February 2021, the General Court dismissed Ryanair’s actions in Cases T-238/20 [3] and T-259/20 [4] and confirmed the EC assessment of the Swedish and French aid schemes. These judgments are of a significant importance as they give an indication of how COVID-19 State aid approved under the Temporary Framework [5] will be treated going