"Ryanair asked the General Court to annul this latest decision of the Commission," but "the General Court dismisses the appeal filed by Ryanair," the first instance of the Court of Justice of the EU announced in a statement, reported by Publituris.

Specifically, according to the published ruling, "the Commission demonstrated that TAP was eligible to benefit from restructuring aid" and also "correctly assessed that the measure responded to an objective of common interest and that it was necessary, adequate and proportionate."

At the same time, “the General Court also rejects Ryanair’s claims that the Commission failed to demonstrate that the restructuring plan was realistic, coherent, sufficiently broad and capable of restoring TAP’s long-term viability, and therefore there was no violation of the guidelines,” it adds.

Furthermore, “the Commission cannot be accused of having carried out an incomplete analysis of the negative effects of the aid measure,” since “the principles of non-discrimination, freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment were not violated.”

At issue is the approval given by the European Commission on December 21, 2021, to TAP’s restructuring plan and the €2.55 billion in state aid to allow the group to return to viability, imposing commitments in order not to harm European competition.

Among the remedies imposed by Brussels for approval of the restructuring plan are the obligation for the airline to make available up to 18 slots per day at Lisbon airport, the division of activities between TAP Air Portugal and Portugália, and the sale of non-essential assets such as subsidiaries in adjacent activities of maintenance, catering, and ground handling.