(BRUSSELS) - Greek state aid granted to airline Olympic Airways in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States met EU rules, a top European court ruled on Wednesday.

In their ruling, judges at the European Court of First Instance partially annulled a decision by the European Commission, which had deemed some of the aid to be illegal.

The Greek government granted Olympic Airways about 4.8 million euros (7.5 million dollars) in July 2002 to compensate for the cancellation of flights when US airspace was closed from September 11 to 14.

The aid also covered other cancellations and additional flights to repatriate people back to Greece.

The commission ruled that only the aid covering the cancellation of flights during the closure of US airspace met EU rules. It said that aid amounted to a little less than two million euros and ordered Greece to recover the rest.

"The exceptional occurrence and the loss caused may be directly connected even if they do not occur at the same time," the court ruled.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance in Case T-268/06
Olympiaki Aeroporia Ypiresies / Commission

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