Ryanair and Aer Lingus win air tax court case
Ryanair and Aer Lingus have won a legal battle with the European Commission which had ordered them to pay the Irish government a total of €16 million in air tax.
The European Commission ruled in 2012 that the two carriers had benefited from illegal state aid because they paid a lower tax of just €2 per passenger for domestic flights taken between 2009 and 2011.
Ryanair had been ordered to pay €12 million and Aer Lingus was due a bill of €4 million, plus interest.
However, the EU General Court in Luxembourg has overturned the EC ruling, saying that the Commission’s argument that the airlines should pay a further €8 per passenger was flawed.
It said: "The Commission could not consider that the advantage enjoyed by the airlines automatically amounted, in all cases, to €8 per passenger."
A third Irish carrier, Aer Arann, will also benefit from the General Court’s decision.
In a statement, Ryanair said: "We welcome today’s ruling which confirms that Ryanair is not required to pay the Irish State approximately €12m in respect of the Air Travel Tax paid at a lower (€2) rate between 2009 and 2011."
The Irish Government changed its air tax to a flat rate for all flights, domestic and international, in 2011 following the EC investigation and the tax was abolished completely last April.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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