MAINZ (dpa-AFX) – The state of Rhineland-Palatinate has reclaimed aid worth millions for the Hunsrück Hahn Airport and the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair – as a result of a decision by the EU Commission. Ryanair had already paid the full amount including interest into a notarial escrow account at the beginning of December 2024, the Interior Ministry in Mainz said upon request. The SWR had previously reported on it.
According to the ministry, Ryanair’s money should remain in the escrow account until the recovery decision from Brussels is legally binding. The airline has announced that it will take legal action against the decision in the European courts.
The ministry explained that the reimbursement of the aid amounts, including interest, from Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH took place at the beginning of December. A subsequent claim was registered for this in the airport’s ongoing insolvency proceedings. It is not directed against the current operator. “We are not affected by the verdict,” said Hahn managing director Rüdiger Franke to the dpa.
Commission: Aid was not compatible with EU rules
The whole thing revolves around a decision by the EU Commission from September 9, 2024. According to this, some state aid granted to Ryanair and Hahn Airport was not compatible with the European Union’s state aid regulations. Specifically, it was about the transfer of land previously acquired by the state back to the airport without a compensation payment from the airport, two marketing contracts concluded between the state and Ryanair and training funding for the airline.
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate did not provide exact figures for the reclaims. According to a communication from the EU Commission in September, the claims against Ryanair amount to 13 to 14 million euros plus interest and 1.25 million against the airport.
The state of Rhineland-Palatinate once held 82.5 percent of the shares in Hahn Airport. The Chinese group HNA acquired the shares in 2017, but government aid continued for a while. According to previous information from the ministry, no payments for aid and similar grants have been made to the airport since 2021, the year the airport went bankrupt. It has belonged to the Trier-based Triwo AG since April 2023./chs/DP/zb
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