Draft new European Commission guidelines on State aid in the aviation sector: stricter constraints and limited access to aid for regional airports
Introduction
On 11 May 2026, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested parties to comment on its draft future Guidelines on State aid in the air transport sector. Interested parties have until 11 June 2026 to submit their observations on this draft.
This new framework will replace the Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines, adopted by the Commission in April 2014. The rules applicable to operating aid for airports, which were due to expire in April 2024, have been extended until April 2027 due to the pandemic.
As part of the review of these Guidelines, the Commission has considered developments in the aviation market, following the COVID-19 and energy crises, as well as the intensification of European decarbonisation objectives. It also refers to the evaluation support study for the revision of the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, which it commissioned from consultants and which was published in March 2026 (see our previous article on this subject )
Main modifications contemplated by the European Commission
Significant restriction on access to operating aid:
The 2014 Aviation Guidelines provide that operating aid may be declared compatible by the European Commission for airports handling up to 3 million passengers per year during a ten-year transitional period, subject to a more favourable framework for airports with fewer than 700,000 passengers per year, which were to be subject to a specific assessment.
As from April 2027, operating aid will only be permitted for airports handling up to one million passengers during a five-year transitional period, running until 3 April 2032. Afterwards, operating aid may only be granted to airports with fewer than 500,000 passengers under horizontal rules, either pursuant to the General Block Exemption Regulation (which is expected to apply to airports handling up to 500,000 passengers per year from 2027) or under the regulatory framework applicable to SGEI.
Investment aid for airports with up to 3 million passengers per year:
Under the 2014 Aviation Guidelines, the Commission may authorise investment aid for airports handling up to 5 million passengers per year and in exceptional circumstances for larger airports. Airports with between 3 and 5 million passengers per year may receive investment aid covering the project’s funding shortfall, capped at 25% of investment costs (subject to possible increases for remote regions).
The draft Guidelines propose restricting the scope of this aid to airports with a maximum of 3 million passengers per year. The maximum aid intensities authorised remain the same as those provided for in the current guidelines, namely the project’s funding shortfall, capped at:
- up to 75% for airports with fewer than 1 million passengers,
- a maximum of 50% for those with between 1 and 3 million passengers.
For airports with more than 3 million passengers per year, investment aid will only be authorised by the European Commission in very exceptional cases characterised by market failure or significant positive externalities, and will be capped at 15% of eligible costs.
The Commission is planning to introduce a stronger environmental dimension. Thus, where investment aid is intended to increase the capacity of the airport infrastructure concerned, the Member State will have to confirm that the airport operator has submitted a credible decarbonisation plan.
Furthermore, aid intensity bonuses are envisaged for sustainability-related investments: aid intensities may be increased to 20 % for airports located in remote regions and to 20 % for infrastructure supporting zero-emission aircraft or ground-based electrical equipment.
Extension of the catchment area for assessing the compatibility of aid
The 2014 Aviation Guidelines define the catchment area by reference to a radius of 100 km or a travel time of approximately 60 minutes by car, bus, train or high-speed train. This catchment area is taken into account when assessing the condition of the objective of general interest justifying the compatibility of the aid. Indeed, when notifying operating or investment aid, the Member State concerned must demonstrate that the aid in favour of the airport in question facilitates regional and/or development, increases mobility by establishing access points for intra-Union flights and/or helps to combat air traffic congestion at major airport hubs. This catchment area is also taken into account when assessing the impact of the aid on other nearby airports.
Where there is another unprofitable airport or one with spare capacity within the same catchment area, the Commission assumes that the duplication of unprofitable airports and the creation of unused capacity in the absence of satisfactory medium-term prospects for its use do not contribute to the achievement of a clearly defined objective of common interest. In practice, since the application of the State aid rules to airports, the Commission has declared incompatible aid on the grounds of duplication of unprofitable infrastructure in only two cases: one concerning Gdynia Airport, located near Gdansk Airport, and the other concerning Zweibrücken Airport, located near Saarbrücken Airport. By contrast, it has authorised numerous operating or investment aid schemes for airports with other airports within 100 km: Nîmes Airport, Tarbes Airport, Brussels South Charleroi Airport, Groningen Airport, Antwerp Airport, etc.
Notwithstanding this well-established decision-making practice, the proposal put forward by the Commission aims to extend the catchment area to a radius of 150 km, unless the journey time by road, sea or rail exceeds 90 minutes.
In practice, this new criterion therefore broadens the scope of the competition analysis around the subsidised airport and leads to a greater number of neighbouring airports being taken into account when assessing the effects on competition and trade.
The Commission proposes, however, to offset the impact of this broadening by identifying certain situations in which the absence of a significant negative effect on competition may be presumed. Thus, the draft specifies that if the route involves maritime transport without a daily return service, or air transport, the airports concerned are not considered to belong to the same catchment area.
The end of start-up aid for the launch of new routes from regional airports
The current Aviation Guidelines allow Member States to introduce start-up aid schemes for the launch of new air routes from regional airports. This aid takes the form of discounts on airport charges and ground handling service fees of up to 50% over a three-year period.
This measure has not been as successful as hoped, as many airports already offer such discounts, which do not constitute aid as they are transparent and non-discriminatory. It should be noted, however, that certain Member States have notified the Commission of various schemes for specific airports (Maastricht, Tulcea, Cluj, Pierrefonds, etc.), notably on a regular basis in Italy (Rimini, Ancona, Pisa and Florence, Cosimo, etc.) or at regional or national level (the Canary Islands, Calabria, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia, etc.).
The Commission plans to completely abolish start-up aid for the launch of new air routes. According to the Commission, many new routes have been opened since 2014 without resorting to this type of public support, and this measure has not been an effective tool for promoting regional connectivity. In an air transport market that is now fully liberalised, the Commission considers that airlines must bear the risks and costs associated with launching new routes themselves.
The possibilities for public support identified by the draft are reduced to a bare minimum:
- the Commission refers to the possibility for Member States to impose public service obligations (PSOs) for specific scheduled air routes that are vital for the economic and social development of the region served and where transport needs cannot be adequately met by an existing air route or by other modes of transport. However, these PSOs are very cumbersome to set up and extremely costly for the public purse;
- the Commission also refers to the possibility of granting aid of social character benefiting end consumers, in principle for certain categories of passengers such as students, the elderly, people with disabilities or low-income individuals. Where the route serves a remote region, the proposal further allows for this aid to cover the entire population of that region.
Finally, it should be noted that airports and public authorities may grant de minimis aid to airlines, which is capped at EUR 300,000 per airline per country over a three-year period. From 1st January 2026, de minimis aid must be recorded in a central register.
Incentives granted by airports to airlines
The 2014 Aviation Guidelines set out the methodology to be followed by airports to ensure that the incentives they plan to grant to an airline under a contract, in whatever form (financial contribution per passenger, marketing contribution, bonus for a new route or per aircraft based, etc.), do not constitute State aid. Since 2014, this methodology has been applied on numerous occasions by the European Commission in some fifty cases involving various airlines, mainly low-cost carriers. It has been upheld by the General Court of the EU on appeal.
In its draft guidelines, the Commission completely omits this fundamental aspect of the sector, most probably due to the well-established European case law on the existence of aid in the context of contracts concluded by airports. The fact remains, however, that measures implemented by public authorities to launch, maintain or promote routes have not been the subject of clear case law, and that general guidance from the Commission, rather than in the context of individual decisions, would be preferable.
Introduction of new control mechanisms
The draft also introduces new monitoring mechanisms, notably the obligation for Member States to carry out ex post evaluations for significant aid schemes exceeding certain thresholds (EUR 150 million per year or EUR 750 million over the entire duration of the scheme), thereby strengthening the monitoring of the effects of aid.
Conclusion
The draft Aviation Guidelines reflect a general tightening of the rules applicable to the financing of regional airports and the launch of new air routes, by reducing the scope for systematic public support.
It thus counterbalances the more favourable regime that the Commission intends to introduce through the adoption of the future General Block Exemption Regulation for airports handling up to 500,000 passengers per year (currently up to 200,000 passengers per year). However, this more favourable regime regarding the financing of costs for this category of airports will remain ineffective if it is not accompanied by an appropriate regulatory framework to convince airlines to launch new routes from less attractive airports….
The new rules are scheduled to come into force in April 2027, following consideration of the comments submitted during the consultation. It is, however, unlikely that the Commission will revisit the main principles outlined above.
