Olympic Airways subsidy was illegal, rules EU
From the BBC(11/12):
"The European Commission has ruled that Olympic Airways, the Greek flag carrier, must pay back state aid worth 194m euros (£124.4m; $195.6m). The payouts to Olympic, which has been struggling financially, broke EU rules, said EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio.
EU rules set tight controls over state support for the airline industry.
Ms de Palacio said the Commission believed it was "guaranteeing to everyone on the European market that they can benefit from equal conditions...we are avoiding cheating".
The Greek government has already said it will appeal against the ruling. It is planning to privatise the state-run airline, which aviation analysts viewed as one of the most financially vulnerable national carriers, even before the attacks on the World Trade Centre sent the travel industry into crisis. The Commission has objected to package of payouts to Olympic combined with payment holidays on airport taxes and social security payments."