Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary calls on EU Commission to block KLM bailout

O'Leary has called on the EU to stop the bailout

REUTERS

26 June 2020

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary today called on the EU Commission to block the bailout of KLM.

It comes as Dutch airline KLM today secured a €3.4 billion bailout from Dutch taxpayers to help it get through the coronavirus crisis.

The bailout follows the €7 billion bailout of Air France from the French government, and a €9 billion handout from the German government for Lufthansa.

But O'Leary wanst the commission to step in and block the deal.

He said: “16 years after Air France’s takeover of KLM, every Dutch citizen now has to pay €200 each to prop-up Air France-KLM, while each French citizen will only pay a subsidy €100. This is a poor deal for the “trading nation”, which likes to lecture other EU countries about fiscal rules but has no problem breaking these rules when it comes to subsidising KLM.

"This Dutch government subsidy is also bad news for competition and consumer interests as it will further delay the necessary reforms at the bloated Air France-KLM. For this €200 KLM subsidy, every Dutch man, woman and child could buy 5 flights with Ryanair, instead of paying for the failure and inefficiency at Air France-KLM.

We call on the European Commission to block this subsidy doping to KLM, which will further reduce competition and consumer choice in the Dutch and French markets”.

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Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary calls on EU Commission to block KLM bailout

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