EU court annuls approval of KLM, TAP aid, wants more info

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union court has annulled the EU’s approval of 3.4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in state aid for the Dutch carrier KLM. But the court has suspended its immediate application because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. In a similar ruling backing a challenge from Irish air carrier Ryanair , the court also annulled the EU’s decision to back state aid to the TAP Portuguese carrier for a potential total of 1.2 billion euros, but also suspended its application pending a new EU decision. In both cases, the Luxembourg-based General Court said Wednesday that the European Commission had to come up with more complete reasoning why such aid could be granted.