Ryanair has opened its new base in Tangier, Morocco and commenced operations from the base in May. Ryanair says it has based two aircraft with an investment of $200 million at the new base, supporting over 600 new local jobs, including 60 pilot and cabin crew jobs. The new base is Ryanair's fourth in Morocco, taking its investment in Morocco to over $1.4 billion in aircraft, it says. As a part of its summer schedule, Ryanair will operate 25 routes, including 13 new routes, connecting Tangier with eight European cities – Baden Baden, Barcelona, Carcassonne, Eindhoven, Lisbon, Manchester and Memmingen – and five new Moroccan destinations – Agadir, Essaouira, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate and Oujda. It adds that this base opening will increase Tangier's summer 2024 capacity by 70%.

Airbus, Spanish airport operator Aena, regional airline Air Nostrum, Iberia, storage specialist Exolum and energy company Repsol are studying the creation of the first hydrogen airport hub in Spain. This collaboration will focus on hydrogen supply and infrastructure, on the specific requirements for ground operations at airports and will provide the partners with a holistic view of the hydrogen-powered aircraft and how it can be integrated into the airport ecosystem, Airbus says. "Given Spain's great potential in renewables and low carbon hydrogen production, it is essential that the aviation industry as a whole collaborates to secure a future end-to-end hydrogen supply chain up to the airports," says Airbus' vice-president ZEROe Ecosystem, Karine Guenan. "As a regional airline, we can be relevant in the project because we have the necessary conditions to become the first implementers of hydrogen technology, thanks to the size of our aircraft and the average distance we fly," states Air Nostrum's director of quality and environment Maria Jose Sanz.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into whether a Covid-era decision to provide €6 billion ($6.5 billion) to recapitalise Lufthansa Group was in line with state aid rules. A decision to approve the aid was originally passed by the Commission in 2020, but the bloc’s general court annulled this last year. An appeal launched by the airline is currently pending. Germany provided €6 billion of direct financial support and a €3 billion loan guarantee in 2020 in order to restore the balance sheet of the Germany-based airline, given the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The aid consisted of €306 million of direct equity, €4.7 billion of non-convertible equity and €1 billion of convertible debt. This saw the German state briefly take a 20% stake in the company. Lufthansa agreed at the time that it would not pay dividends, limit the pay of management and divest 24 slots per day at Frankfurt and Munich airports, as part of the conditions for receiving the aid. However, on 10 May last year, the General Court rules that the recapitalisation measures did not meet several conditions of the Covid temporary framework, which governs how aid was to be provided to EU companies. “Following the General Court's judgment, the Commission will now carry out a more in-depth investigation to assess further the recapitalisation measure,” states the EC. This will look at issues including whether Lufthansa was eligible for the debt, incentives to encourage Germany to exit its position in the company, the price of the shares at the time of a potential conversion to equity, the existence of market power at other airports, namely Dusseldorf and Vienna, and other structural commitments imposed on the airline. “The opening of an in-depth investigation gives Germany and interested third parties the opportunity to submit comments. It does not prejudge in any way the outcome of the investigation,” adds the Commission. Lufthansa has previously noted that the German government made around €1 billion in proceeds from the sale of its stake in the airline.