Ryanair has lost a case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its complaint about Portugal's bail-out of the airline TAP during the Covid pandemic.
The case relates to a €1.2 billion cash injection which the Portuguese government granted the airline in June 2020. At the time Lisbon notified the European Commission that the deal involved a loan agreement between the government, TAP Air Portugal, and Transportes Aéreos Portugueses SGPS (TAP SGPS), the 100% shareholder of the airline, which would act as guarantor.
The plan was to keep the airline afloat for six months between July and December 2020. In June that year, the Commission announced that the loan constituted state aid, but that it was compatible with the rules of the EU's internal market.
Ryanair challenged that decision before the General Court of the ECJ. The court at the time found in Ryanair’s favour, and annulled the Commission's decision to accept the state aid.