The EU General Court upholds actions for annulment against decisions of the Commission authorising State aid to airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic (Ryanair / Condor)

On 10 May 2023, the General Court (“Court”) delivered two judgments upholding Ryanair and Condor’s actions to annul the decisions of the European Commission (“Commission”) approving State aid granted by Germany to Lufthansa (Joined Cases T-34/21 and T-87/21) and by Sweden and Denmark to SAS (Case T-238/21) in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. Unlike previous judgments whereby the Court annulled similar decisions due to the Commission’s failure to provide sufficient reasoning, in the Lufthansa and SAS judgments the Court annulled the respective decisions on the basis of substantive reasons, thus explicitly criticizing the Commission’s assessment. The Commission decisions In