EU Gives Green Light for State Aid to Croatia Airlines

Photo source: CroatiaAirlines/A. Grubelic

The European Commission on Tuesday approved a 11.7-million-euro state aid to Croatia Airlines for the damage it has suffered due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

The Commission found that the grant to the state-owned airline is in line with EU state aid rules.

According to the Commission, the measure aims to compensate the airline for the losses directly caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the travel restrictions introduced by Croatia and other destination countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus in the period between March 19 and June 30.

“This has forced Croatia Airlines to cancel most of its scheduled flights, and resulted in major losses in turnover,” the Commision said.

The public support will take the form of a direct grant.

The Commission assessed the measure under Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which enables approval for state aid measures granted by member states to compensate specific companies or specific sectors for the damages directly caused by exceptional occurrences, such as the coronavirus outbreak.

Croatia Airlines is the flag carrier of Croatia with headquarters in Zagreb and a fleet consisting of Airbus 320, Airbus 319 and Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 aircraft.