In a landmark ruling, the European Court of First Instance today (25 June) annulled a 1994 decision…

Date: 25/06/1998

...by the European Commission to allow payment of a 3-billion-ecu state aid to Air France. The Court claimed that the Commission had erred by only taking account of the European aviation market and failing to look at the effects on transatlantic routes and on small airlines making feeder flights into Paris Charles De Gaulle airport. The Court felt a 1.7 billion ecu subsidy for buying 17 new aircraft was also unlawful. The Commission has two months to appeal, during which it may ask for the ruling to be suspended, or it could order Air France to return the cash to the French government.