The European Commission has approved €73.02 million aid for Alitalia, which is one major network airline operating in Italy, asserting that the support is in accordance with the EU State aid rules.
According to a press release issued by the European Commission, the aid intends to compensate the airline for the damages that the latter has suffered on 19 routes as a consequence of COVID-19 between June 16 and October 31 in 2020 due to the emergency measures imposed to prevent the further spread of the virus, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The support will take the form of a €73.02 million direct grant, which corresponds to the estimated damage directly caused to the airline in that period according to a route-by-route analysis of the 19 eligible routes,” the press release reads.
The Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said that the measure would enable Italy to offer more compensation for the financial damages that the airline suffered during 2020, in particular between June and October.
“We continue working closely with the Member States to ensure that national support measures can be put in place in a coordinated and effective way, in line with EU rules. At the same time, our investigations into past support measures to Alitalia are ongoing, and we are in contact with Italy on their plans and compliance with EU rules,” she said.
Alitalia’s operations, especially regarding international and intercontinental flights have been severely affected by the travel restrictions imposed in Italy and in other countries in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, causing the airline to face huge operating losses until at least October 31, 2020.
The Commission has estimated the measure under the Article 107 (2) (b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows the Commission to adopt State aid measures provided by the Member States as a relief for certain companies or industries for the damages triggered by exceptional occurrences. COVID-19 has also been considered as an exceptional occurrence.
In September, the EU Commission approved Italy’s €199.45 million support for Alitalia to assist the airline for the damages suffered between March 1 to June 15, 2020 due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Lately, the European Commission has approved Poland’s €650 million aid for the Polish LOT airlines and a total of €106.7 million restructuring aid for the French airline Corsair.