EC probes Ryanair over Frankfurt state aid allegations
Ryanair is being investigated by European competition authorities over allegations that the budget airline received help from the local government in Frankfurt that would contravene EU state aid rules.
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The European Commission said on Friday that it has launched an in-depth investigation to check whether airport service agreements, training aid, the financing of a crew and pilot school as well as the funding of a maintenance hall for Ryanair by the state-owned Frankfurt-Hahn airport gave the Dublin-headquartered carrier "an undue economic advantage" over its competitors.
Airport operating company Flughafengesellschaft Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH (FFHG) was owned by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate between 2009 and 2017.
The EC, which between 1999 and 2014 investigated Ryanair's airport agreements at Brussels Charleroi, Frankfurt Hahn, Alghero and Stockholm Vasteras, is also looking into certain marketing deals agreed between Rhineland-Palatinate and Ryanair prior to 2009.
"Fair competition is essential for consumers, jobs and growth - also for air transport operators. We will investigate whether regional and local authorities in Germany, against the rules, gave an unfair advantage to Ryanair over its competitors, potentially harming other airlines and having spill-over effects on other regions in Europe," said Margrethe Vestager, the commissioner in charge of competition policy.
Vestager's department is acting on allegations that some of the measures Ryanair benefitted from at its FFHG operations, as well as other measures in favour of FFHG, amounted to illegal state aid.
In 2014, the EC found that Ryanair's airport agreements at Brussels, Frankfurt, Alghero and Stockholm did not infringe the EU State aid rules.
“Ryanair is confident that our Frankfurt Hahn agreement fully complies with EU State aid rules," the company said on Friday. "The EU has previously investigated this matter in 2014 and ruled that there was no State aid involved in the Ryanair-Frankfurt Hahn agreement.”
The EC noted that the opening of proceedings gives interested third parties an opportunity to submit comments on the measures under assessment and "does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation".
On 1 March 2017, the HNA Group purchased 82.5% of FFHG.