Brussels — Lufthansa has lost a years-long dispute over millions of euros in state aid for a regional airport in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The European Court of Justice ( ECJ) on Thursday rejected a complaint by the German airline regarding the state's support for Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.
Among other things, the case concerned a credit line - comparable to an overdraft facility on a current account - amounting to 45 million euros (51 million dollars).
In addition, the court decided that Lufthansa must pay the costs of the proceedings for the western German state and the European Commission.
The airport received aid from 2009 until 2011, which was given the okay in Brussels in 2014.
Lufthansa had already taken its complaint to the Court of Justice of the European Union but was unsuccessful there.
The airline has never flown regularly to the airport. It is critical of the subsidies because low-cost competitor Ryanair takes off from Frankfurt-Hahn.
The ECJ ruled that the lower court's ruling had been correct and had rightfully noted that Lufthansa was not individually impacted by the aid for the regional airport.
Lufthansa has won - and lost - a number of other lawsuits regarding whether state support for Frankfurt-Hahn Airport distorted competition.
Meanwhile, the former military airport filed for insolvency in October 2021.
In 2017, the Chinese conglomerate HNA acquired 82.5 per cent of the airport from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate for around 15 million euros. The remaining 17.5 per cent is still held by the neighbouring state of Hesse, where the city of Frankfurt is located.
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