The European Commission said
Friday that the Sardinian regional government had given illegal
State aid to selected airlines operating at Cagliari and Olbia
airports, adding that this "unfair advantage" which must be
repaid.
It added that it found the measures involved no aid to
Sardinian airports.
The case concerns a scheme adopted in 2010 to develop air
transport and to ensure air connections to and from Sardinia all
year round.
The scheme provided financing to the Sardinian airports of
Cagliari and Olbia, which in turn used it to provide financial
compensation to selected airlines.
"State aid to airlines may be justified and compatible
provided it meets an objective of general interest, such as
regional development or accessibility," the Commission said.
"However, the Commission found that the measures failed to
meet the criteria set by the 2005 Guidelines on state aid for
developing regional airports.
"In particular, the measures were not designed to make
routes profitable without public funding in the future and were
not restricted to the extra costs of opening new routes.
"Sardinia also failed to organise tender procedures to
select the airlines to provide the activities financed.
"The public financing therefore failed to meet common
transport objectives and gave certain airlines an unfair
economic advantage, which they will now have to pay back".
It said the amounts to be repaid by the airlines will need
to be determined by the Italian authorities.
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