Lufthansa has rejected charter airline Condor's accusations that it was abusing its market position in cancelling an agreement between the two companies late last year, months after the larger German carrier received a bailout.
Lufthansa was granted a €9 billion government bailout that came with conditions to preserve competition including the transfer to rivals of some take-off and landing slots at German airports.
Condor has complained that its larger rival abused its market dominance when it cancelled an agreement that allowed Condor passengers to use Lufthansa feeder flights as part of their journeys to holiday destinations.
Earlier this month, Condor asked the European Court of Justice to stop Lufthansa from cancelling the agreement.
Lufthansa said that the approval of the state aid and its conditions are in line with European Union law. It said that Condor's complaints to the German cartel office regarding Lufthansa are unjustified.
"Condor should also simply face the competition and prove its own future viability," Lufthansa board member Michael Niggemann said in a statement.
Niggemann said that Lufthansa cannot be accused of competing with Condor routes and that there are no route monopolies.
"Cannot Relieve Condor Of The Entrepreneurial Risk"
"We cannot relieve Condor of the entrepreneurial risk," he added.
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