An investigation has been started by the European Commission to reconstruct the process that led Brussels to give the green light to the six billion euro recapitalization granted by Berlin to the national carrier Lufthansa during the pandemic. The German airline had in fact appealed against the decision of the Court of the European Union, which had annulled the validity of the rescue plan.

The European Commission had approved the recapitalization on 25 June 2020, as part of a temporary aid action to avoid the airline's bankruptcy during the pandemic. It happened in Germany as in all of Europe. At that point the low-cost airlines Ryanair and Condor had appealed, claiming that it was a violation of European rules on state aid.

On 10 May 2023, the EU court ruled in favor of the appellants, annulling the European Commission's decision, finding that the recapitalization measure granted to Lufthansa did not satisfy many of the conditions established in the covid-19 temporary framework. In light of this ruling, the European Commission will now carry out a more in-depth investigation to further evaluate the recapitalization measure.