State aid: Commission approves €97 million Danish scheme to compensate travel operators for damages caused by cancellations due to coronavirus outbreak

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an approximately €97 million (DKK 725 million) Danish scheme to compensate travel operators for damages caused by the cancellation of package travels due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent travel restrictions imposed by the Danish Government. Under the scheme, travel operators will be entitled to compensation for the losses suffered as a consequence of reimbursing consumers in the event of cancellation.. The compensation, in the form of direct grants covering up to 100% of documented losses related to the coronavirus outbreak, will be granted by the Danish Travel Guarantee Fund and will cover the period from 26 January 2020 until 31 May 2020, corresponding to the timeframe in which the Danish government has put in place travel restrictions. The Commission found that the Danish measure is in line with Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which enables the Commission to approve State aid measures granted by Member States to compensate specific companies or specific sectors for the damages directly caused by exceptional occurrences, such as the coronavirus outbreak. The Commission found that the Danish measure will compensate damages that are directly linked to the coronavirus outbreak. It also found that the measure is proportionate, as the envisaged compensation does not exceed what is necessary to make good the damage.  The Commission therefore concluded that the scheme is in line with EU State aid rules. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.57352 in the public case register on the Commission’s competition website, once confidentiality issues have been resolved