EU Commission releases 525 million euros in state aid for Condor

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Condor machine in Frankfurt am Main

Photo: Boris Roessler / dpa

Germany is allowed to support the vacation airline Condor with state aid of 525.3 million euros. In order to cushion the consequences of the travel restrictions in the corona pandemic, aid amounting to 204.1 million euros has been earmarked for the holiday airline according to the EU Commission. Added to this are 321.2 million euros for the restructuring of the company. The airlines were hit particularly hard by the Corona requirements, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The restructuring plan enables Condor to survive in the long term.

The EU Commission is the top competition guardian in the bloc of states and examines whether state aid can result in unfair advantages for companies.

It is believed that the pandemic, as an exceptional event, justifies exceptional interventions, the Commission communication said.

The aid for the holiday airline is controversial, the competitor Ryanair had sued against them.

The EU court in Luxembourg had banned the aid on the grounds that the EU Commission had insufficiently justified its release.

The Commission has now taken the judges' decision into account in its new decision, the Brussels authority said.

The state supported Condor with 550 million euros in loans in the Corona crisis last year because all passenger air traffic collapsed due to travel restrictions.

In May Condor had found a new investor, the 4050 jobs are to be kept, it said.

Last year, Condor averted the impending bankruptcy and left the protective shield proceedings on December 1, 2020, in which it was comprehensively restructured.

According to the information, Condor flies to 126 destinations worldwide.

mmq / dpa / Reuters