Ryanair loses bid to force Alitalia owners to repay €300m state aid

Ryanair Holdings has lost a court challenge that may have forced Alitalia’s owners to repay a €300m loan from the Italian government.

The EU general court dismissed Ryanair’s case and confirmed the European Commission’s approval of the sale of Alitalia’s main assets to Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI), a group of Italian investors, after the airline’s 2008 bankruptcy, a statement from the Luxembourg-based tribunal said.

CAI, including Intesa Sanpaolo and Atlantia, wasn’t required to repay the state loan that the EU said was illegal aid, the court confirmed. Air France- KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, bought 25% of Alitalia from CAI in 2009.