EU opens investigation into German state aid for Lufthansa

(Reuters) - The European Commission has opened an investigation into the state aid granted by Germany to airline Lufthansa during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it said on Monday.

The 6 billion euro ($6.5 billion) recapitalisation had been approved under the COVID Temporary Framework but was last year annulled by the EU's second-highest court. An appeal by Lufthansa against that decision is still pending.

The Commission's probe is in response to that court's ruling, which declared there had been errors in the process.

The aim now is to clarify whether the financial injections were in line with the European rules on state aid.

Lufthansa has already repaid the aid in full, which could limit any immediate impact from the court ruling, although it could have consequences for future state bailouts.

A Lufthansa spokesperson reiterated that the company had already repaid the measures in full and said Lufthansa had anticipated in its 2023 annual report that the Commission would open a formal investigation, as it has done in similar cases.

($1 = 0.9228 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Klaus Lauer, Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by David Goodman and Friederike Heine)