Ryanair sues over Air France aid in fight to halt virus bailouts

Ryanair Holdings challenged French government help for Air France-KLM, in its latest legal attack on allegedly unfair government support for favoured national carriers amid the Covid-19 crisis. The airline said Monday it filed a lawsuit at the EU’s General Court seeking to topple the EU’s approval for a program delaying aviation tax payments for companies with a French license. The tax break will mostly benefit Air France and excludes Ryanair and easyJet, which fly many routes from French airports but are based elsewhere. Ryanair has also complained that similar Swedish and Danish programs unfairly discriminate against other European carriers. European governments are planning to pump billions of euros into airlines after the coronavirus outbreak halted most air travel. These subsidies for Air France, Alitalia and Lufthansa are “going to hugely distort the level playing field for aviation” by keeping inefficient airlines alive while rivals like Ryanair risk burning through cash reserves, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said earlier this month. The EC said it would defend its decision in court. <br/>