Ryanair will be examining Malta’s request to the European Commission for permission to pump €290 million into Air Malta, and determining whether to object to the state aid in the European courts, Malta Air CEO David O’Brien said. He told BusinessToday that, while Ryanair had indeed sought legal redress in European courts against state aid offered to various airlines by some EU countries, the amount being sought by Malta to bail out Air Malta could be considered ‘small fry’. “We are much more concerned that Lufthansa has received more than €10 billion and that Air France has received more than €9 billion, despite European law prohibiting state aid,” O’Brien said. “By the peak of the summer, Ryanair alone will be offering nine UK routes to Malta,” he said. “That will make Malta a very viable choice.”At the same time, Ryanair would also be serving 18 different routes from Italy to Malta.

Source: Libya Today April 15, 2021 07:03 UTC