25th Jun 2020 15:32
(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC on Thursday added 64 new routes from Vienna, Austria, and took another swipe at "subsidy junkie" Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
From next Wednesday, the budget airline's Vienna base will offer 64 new routes, including summer trips to tourist hotspots such as Rome, Faro and Athens. The measures are part of Ryanair's post-Covid Summer 2020 schedule.
The pandemic battered the airline industry in recent months, emptying skies and forcing some carriers, Ryanair included, to pursue redundancies.
The company added: "As Austrians taxes get wasted on illegal state aid to German owned Austrian Airlines, Ryanair will guarantee low fares for Austrian customers/visitors at prices which start from EUR9.99 one way. Vienna holidaymakers can now plan an exciting summer getaway with fares starting from just EUR9.99 for travel in July & August before some misguided Austrian Minister tries to ban them."
Austrian Airlines is a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and earlier in June, it struck a EUR600 million rescue deal with Austria's government.
Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary on Thursday labelled Lufthansa a "subsidy junkie".
The German flag carrier was poised to clear a key shareholder vote on its EUR9 billion state rescue Thursday, boosted by the EU's green light and the last-minute backing of a billionaire investor who had the power to veto the plan.
The European Commission said it had approved the German government's EUR6 billion cash injection to keep Lufthansa afloat as the coronavirus pandemic pummels the airline industry, but imposed strict conditions.
The massive rescue package also includes EUR3 billion in public loan guarantees and would see Berlin taking a 20% stake in the airline giant.
Ryanair said it will challenge the rescue deal before an EU court.
"We have said to the commission we will appeal all other decisions and all approvals: the same goes for today's approval of aid to Lufthansa," Juliusz Gomorek, Ryanair's chief legal officer, told reporters on Thursday.
Ryanair shares were 1.4% lower at EUR10.58 each in London on Thursday afternoon.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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