EU likely to punish Ryanair
The European Commission is expected to say Ryanair must repay a quarter of the “illegal” subsidies it received from a public-owned airport at Charleroi, outside Brussels, in a ruling that airlines say will “devastate” the no-frills air sector.
The Commission is likely to rule against the local authority that paid subsidies to Charleroi. The payment made it possible for Ryanair to land there.
The Dublin-based airline may have to repay between GBP1.23-4.3 million.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said the decision would ‘devastate’ his firm, adding that a negative decision would be tantamount to “an attack” on the low cost sector.
Controversially, he added: ‘This is a fundamentally negative decision that is largely driven by certain influences in the European Commission’ who he suggested would like to see things made a little easier for Ryanair’s rivals.”
The Assembly of European Regions (AER), which covers 250 regional governments in 30 countries, said the Commission verdict represented a “direct threat to the existence of regional airports.”
The AER said: “The development of the last years with low cost carriers using small regional airports has allowed in particular small and medium-sized enterprises to get access to international markets at reasonable costs.
“This makes them competitive in the market.”
Kevin Done, air correspondent for the Financial Times, said the ruling would make a “dent,” but it would not be huge.
“It certainly is going to make life a lot more complicated in terms of the intricacies of deals that will have to be negotiated.”
