The European Commission (EC) approved this Tuesday that the Italian government grant state aid of 73.02 million euros to the airline Alitalia for the damage suffered by the coronavirus pandemic between June 16 and October 31, 2020, adding to the 199.45 million already approved in September.
See also: Alitalia has cost taxpayers and creditors $8 billion since 2017.
“The aviation industry continues to be one of the sectors most affected by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak,” said the EC Vice President in charge of Competition, Margrethe Vestager, in a statement, reported EFE.
The EC official added that, in parallel with the approval of this direct subsidy, which completes the aid approved for the problems between March 1, 2020 and June 15, the Commission continues to investigate “previous support measures for Alitalia” and said that Brussels is “in contact with Italy regarding its plans and compliance with European Union rules.
See also: New Alitalia will operate with half of the aircraft and workers.
“We continue to work closely with Member States to ensure that national support measures can be implemented in a coordinated and effective manner in accordance with EU rules,” added Vestager.
The restrictions in place both in Italy and in other destination countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus have greatly affected Alitalia’s operations, particularly with regard to international and intercontinental flights, the EC said of the Rome-based company and its fleet of 95 aircraft.
Alitalia incurred “significant operational losses until at least October 31, 2020” and Italy notified the EC of an “additional aid measure” to assist the airline, adding to the nearly $200 million already granted.
The Commission considers the outbreak of coronavirus an exceptional event, as it is an extraordinary and unpredictable event that has a significant economic impact. Consequently, “exceptional interventions by the Member State to compensate for the damage linked to the outbreak are justified”, according to Brussels.
900 million credit granted by Italy to the airline Alitalia between 2017 and 2018 constitutes illegal state aid and complies with European regulations on aid to companies in difficulty.
Moreover, in February 2020 the Community Executive opened a second investigation into an additional loan of 400 million euros granted by Italy in October 2019. Both investigations are still ongoing.
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Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial con 13 años de trayectoria.