EU court annuls approval of state aid for KLM and TAP airlines

Ryanair had argued that the aid constituted unfair state bailouts for national carriers (John Walton/PA)

A top European Union court has annulled the EU’s approval of 3.4 billion euros (£2.9 billion) in state aid for the Dutch airline KLM but suspended its immediate application because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry.

In a similar ruling backing a challenge from Irish airline Ryanair, the court also overturned the EU’s decision to back state aid to the TAP Portuguese carrier for a potential total of 1.2 billion euros (£1 billion), but also suspended its application pending a new EU decision.