Lufthansa lose action against Ryanair

Lufthansa today lost a court case in the higher Regional Court of Koblenz against Ryanair. Lufthansa had contended that Ryanair were receiving subsidies from Frankfurt Hahn airport. Today's decision allows the German airline to appeal the case to country's highest civil court. The court ruled that Lufthansa cannot contest subsidies given to competitors unless the EU investigates and finds that the practice has violated European state aid laws and the government doesn't seek the return of the money. In May of last year the Higher Regional Court of Schleswig-Holstein dismissed a similar case brought by Air Berlin in relation to Luebeck airport.