The German government has yet to reach an agreement with the European Commission on state aid to airline Lufthansa, the group reports Saturday. Last week there was already a deal on the support, but it was blocked by the Lufthansa supervisory board because the package received no support from Brussels.
The framework of the previous agreement remains: Lufthansa receives 9 billion euros, while the German government gets a 20 percent stake in the group. That interest can reach 25 percent.
The terms of the deal have been adjusted. For example, Lufthansa has to hand over a small portion of the take-off and landing rights in Frankfurt and Munich to competitors who are not yet flying from the two airports. They have a year and a half to sign up for this. If this does not happen, the so-called slots will go to existing competitors at the airports. The slots should not go to airlines that have received state aid.
Furthermore, Lufthansa only has to report ‘eight’ aircraft in Frankfurt and Munich. The group has reached a compromise on this with Brussels. Initially, the Commission wanted Lufthansa to drop 20 aircraft, while Lufthansa only wanted to drop three.
The Lufthansa management has already announced that it supports the German-European agreement. Only the shareholders have yet to give the green light. They are given the opportunity to do so at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. It is not yet known when this will follow.
The German Ministry of Economic Affairs said earlier that it did not want to detain Lufthansa for too long and will sell the interest in the airline again before the end of 2023.
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