Even before the corona pandemic, Slovenia's connectivity was severely reduced due to the bankruptcy of the private airline Adria Airways. The government quickly planned to launch a new state airline and hoped that Lufthansa would participate. There was a basket of this. The EU Commission has now also given the Slovenian government a kind of “basket”.
The European competition watchdogs have expressed concerns that the 76 million euros earmarked for the establishment of a new Slovenian airline from a corona aid pot is legally compliant. One is in dialogue with the government of the country in order to be able to convince them of a different solution.
Brussels, on the other hand, gave the green light for corona aid for Fraport-operated Ljubljana Airport. Here five million euros are transferred. These are compensation for the loss of income in the period from March 17 to June 30, 2020. The sum could possibly be increased later if the damage period is extended, but this must then be checked separately by the EU Commission.
With regard to the planned state carrier, a lot is still in the air in Slovenia. In any case, the financing model via the Corona development and aid fund does not seem to suit Brussels. It remains to be seen what steps those responsible in Ljubljana will now take.