When the corona pandemic hit, the German airline Lufthansa was in an extremely deep low, from which it was able to get out with the help of state aid. However, as of 2023, the respective EU court declared the government aid that was the object of the complaint, which enabled the German carrier to continue earning.

The corona pandemic resulted in economic and industrial crises for every global player, also with regard to air traffic. This also affected Lufthansa, for which the pandemic was a thorn in the side. As a result of the Corona crisis, Lufthansa received state aid of 6 billion euros and the federal government took a stake in the company through numerous purchases of shares, which could lead to an enormous profit for the federal government in the subsequent sale.

The EU court explains why the annulment of the state aid is justified by finding some errors in the decision of the respective commission that made this state aid possible. The authorities determined that Lufthansa was unable to obtain the necessary funds on the market. They also determined for themselves that Lufthansa did not have market power at some airports. In addition, at the time it did not specify exactly how the state aid was to be repaid, and no tangible incentive for repayment was initiated. In addition, the EU Commission accepted the assignment of slots that cannot result in effective competition.

The state aid was declared void, but there can no longer be any specific consequences for Lufthansa. Lufthansa was able to initiate the repayment of state aid as early as 2021, as the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.