The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate is demanding back subsidies from the insolvent Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. It follows a decision of the European Court of Justice. The probability that the ten million euros plus interest will flow back is low. Reason: The airport is broke.

It is also currently completely unclear whether a possible buyer could be asked to pay for the aid that the ECJ has declared illegal. The state government tried to postpone this at least with the help of an application for provisional legal protection in order to be able to provide clarification, but the ECJ rejected the postponement. Therefore, a letter had to be sent to the insolvent Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH to reclaim the operating aid from 2017 and 2018.

The state of Rhineland-Palatinate withdrew in 2017. The 82,5 percent majority stake was sold to the Chinese HNA Group. However, this has meanwhile collapsed and dragged the airport into the vortex of bankruptcy. The state of Hesse still holds 17,5 percent of Frankfurt Hahn Airport.

How things will continue now will probably also show the actions of the insolvency administrator in the next few days. The deadline for submitting bids ended at 11:00 a.m. on Monday. Before that, the asset manager Jan Markus Plathner spoke of a "lively interest" on the part of investors. How many serious and binding offers he has received and with whom negotiations will be entered into will be shown shortly.

An indication that perhaps not so much has progressed is also shown by the fact that a spokesman for the insolvency administrator said that subsequent expressions of interest were also accepted. Only in the course of 2022 will you actually request binding offers. The airport is available for purchase both in one piece and in the form of partial areas. In the event of a positive outcome, the creditors' committee and the court must formally obtain their approval. Last but not least, the buyer has to pay the agreed and approved price to the crowd. But there is still a long way to go before then.

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is used almost predominantly by the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air. Only a few other carriers offer regular connections or charter flights from this airport. Hahn has made a name for itself in the cargo sector in recent years, but the volume cannot be compared with that of Leipzig / Halle or Frankfurt am Main.