EU Commission Provides €1 Million in Support to Romanian Airlines Affected by COVID-19 Pandemic
According to a press release issued by the Commission, the scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework, and it cannot surpass the €2.3 million mark. In addition, the funds will be distributed in the form of direct grants up to €600,000 per company no later than June 30, AtoZSerwisPlus.Ro reports.
“The measure will be open to all interested airlines starting operations at Arad airport through an open and transparent procedure. The purpose of the measure is to support the activity of air operators and the economic recovery of the region in the context of the coronavirus pandemic,” the press release reads.
In addition, the authority has approved a €2.2 million fund for the Italian cruise ships sector, which is eligible for the fund, as the pandemic has hit hard the tourism industry. Like funds for Romanian airports, these will be allocated in grants. The aid amount per cruise ship will be equal to the total of port fees that the beneficiary paid for docking in Italian ports between July 24 and December 31, 2021.
As per the Lithuanian scheme, the Commission will offer €4 million to support accommodation service providers and tour operators whose activity has been disrupted or weakened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to be eligible for grants, accommodation service providers must have experienced a decrease in turnover of at least 40 per cent over 2021 compared to 2019.
The eligible beneficiaries will be able to receive an aid amount equal to half of the costs of their activity during the period between November 2021 and March 2022, which cannot exceed €50,000.
The same requirement applies to tour operators, which must prove they suffered a decline in turnover of 30 per cent or more. The maximum aid offered to them cannot exceed €30,000.
According to Eurostat, the European Office for data and statistics, the service turnover in the EU has dropped by 27 per cent in the four quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, including a nine-month period.
Turnover, which determines how quickly a business conducts its operations or how fast the company sells its inventory, was seven per cent higher in 2021 than in 2019. However, the service turnover of tourism stood at 72.7 – about 27 points lower than in 2019, indicating the effect the pandemic had on the industry.
