The Court has rejected Ryanair's actions for aid in favor of Finnair and SAS

The General Court of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, announced on Wednesday that it had rejected two appeals from the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair against aid granted by the Finnish, Danish and Swedish governments to Finnair and SAS. This was aid provided to mitigate the negative economic effects of the new coronavirus pandemic. The Court ruled that the aid measures introduced by Sweden and Denmark in favor of SAS for damage resulting from the cancellation or reprogramming of flights due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were compatible with Union law. The Court also noted that Finland's guarantee to Finnair, which is to help obtain a EUR 600 million loan from the pension fund to cover its working capital needs as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic, is in line with EU law. Both forms of aid have also been confirmed by the European Commission, which has declared them compatible with EU internal market rules. However, Ryanair challenged these decisions before the EU Court of Justice and sought their annulment. The General Court ruled that the guarantee provided by the Finnish Government to its national airline Finnair "complied" with European law and took a similar stance in the aid scheme introduced by Sweden and Denmark for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) to compensate for damage caused by canceling or rescheduling flights in associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The General Court rejected as unfounded the pleas in law of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.