Court judgments can be interpreted in different ways. This is also the case in the case of Condor state aid, because politics and trade unions are currently trying to gloss over the decision of the court of the European Union, so that the impression arises that the EU Commission only has to improve the reasoning and nothing would have happened.

The fact that the German federal government has already provided a loss-making holiday airline twice in the three-digit millions and this is hardly discussed in the population is probably also due to Condor's underdog communication strategy. You would have got into the situation through no fault of your own and Lufthansa wanted to sweep Condor off the market.

Condor may have been profitable within the Thomas Cook Group, but the now defunct tour operators were the main buyers of the tickets. The holiday airline has not yet been able to prove that it is able to survive on a standalone basis, because the German state has been helping out since the bankruptcy of the parent company. In the course of the sale of 51 percent, it was casually communicated that the government would even make money available for a third time.

Corona and the federal election mean that the government does not dare to look reality in the eye: Condor has an aging fleet and the business model is complicated due to the bankruptcy of the former travel company. Even the strictest hand luggage regulations in the industry are of little help here.

In the interests of the Condor employees, it is to be hoped that the German government will not drop the vacation plane like a hot potato after the federal election. In 2017, Air Berlin was kept in the air with state aid long enough for the election to take place. Immediately afterwards, the liquidation of what was once the second largest airline in Germany began. At least in theory, Condor could also face such a fate, unless the carrier manages to earn enough money over the summer to get through the traditionally weaker winter. If Condor succeeds, nobody will ask any more questions. Unless? Then the only hope left for the employees is that “Air Berlin after the election” will not be repeated.