EU approves Slovenian airline subsidy scheme
The European Commission has approved a five million euro Slovenian scheme to support airlines flying to the country. The support, which will take the form of direct grants, is accessible to all carriers operating to or from Slovenia. The level of support per beneficiary will depend on the number of passengers carried by the airline and the number of flights. The measure is expected to benefit approximately twenty carriers. The objective of the measure is to re-establish air connectivity to and from Slovenia, with a view to support the recovery of tourism and more broadly of the economy which have been negatively affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Commission found that the Slovenian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the temporary framework to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy “a serious disturbance in the economy of a member state”. An expert commission formed by the Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology is set to decide on Monday, November 23, which airlines will be the beneficiaries of an initial 1.5 million euros in subsidies for maintaining flights to the country between March 30, 2020 and September 30, 2020. Nine airlines have applied, including Lufthansa, Air Serbia, Montenegro Airlines, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Swiss, easyJet, Wizz Air and LOT Polish Airlines.
In order to be eligible for aid, airlines must either demonstrate that they have operated scheduled flights to Slovenian airports from March 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020 or that they will commit through contracts to operate scheduled flights at a specific frequency from October 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021. Financial institutions are explicitly excluded as beneficiaries. The aid will not be channelled through credit institutions or other financial institutions but will be paid directly to the beneficiary airlines.
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