Noerr advises Condor on defence against Ryanair’s complaint regarding €380m rescue aid before the EU General Court

Led by Sarah Blazek, the law firm Noerr successfully represented Condor Flugdienst GmbH in proceedings before the EU General Court (GC) sought by Ryanair.

The background to the proceedings was rescue aid (in the form of a loan from the German development bank KfW) of €380 million granted by Germany to Condor in 2019 and approved by the European Commission.

Condor also got into financial difficulties due to the insolvency of the then parent company Thomas Cook in September 2019. With the rescue aid from October 2019, Condor's liquidity was secured and flight operations were maintained under German “protective shield” (debtor-in-possession) proceedings. This prevented a large number of passengers from being stranded at holiday destinations worldwide without the possibility of returning home.

In its judgment of 18 May 2022 (Case T-577/20), the GC now confirmed the legality of the rescue aid and dismissed Ryanair’s action in its entirety. Before the rescue, Condor belonged to the Thomas Cook Group and experienced its financial difficulties through no fault of its own as a result of the collapse of the Thomas Cook Group. The GC now confirmed that the rescue of Condor also served a common interest within the meaning of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Advisors to Condor Flugdienst GmbH: Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB

Advising lawyers: Sarah Blazek (team lead, EU State aid), Alexander Birnstiel, Lucas Gasser, Jochen Christoph Hegener.

EU State aid

Alexander Birnstiel (partner), Sarah Blazek (associated partner, Brussels)
Lucas Gasser (senior associate, Berlin)
Jochen Christoph Hegener (associate, Munich)