EU regulators to investigate SAS recapitalisation again after court veto

EU competition regulators will again investigate Swedish airline SAS over a 1-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) recapitalisation by Denmark and Sweden after an EU court annulled a 2020 decision, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

“The Commission will now carry out a more in-depth investigation in order to assess further the recapitalisation measure. The Commission aims at adopting a final decision on this case in the coming months,” the EU executive said in a statement.

The Commission said its preliminary view is that the recapitalisation measure complied with EU rules, “with the exception of the absence of a step-up mechanism (or an alternative mechanism with the same effect as a step-up mechanism)”.

“SAS welcomes the EU Commission’s decision to open a formal investigation following the General Court’s ruling on May 10,” the airline said in a statement.

“It is important to reach a robust solution to the issue identified by the General Court as quickly as possible,” it added.

The aid was granted to SAS in the midst of the pandemic. Most EU airlines also received state aid.

($1 = 0.9175 euros)