07.09.05
Irish low-cost Irish airline Ryanair slammed the EU's guidelines on airport aid for route development released yesterday (see this earlier airport news story). The rules impose restrictions on what public airports can offer to airlines to attract new routes.
Ryanair said the restrictions do not apply to privately-owned airports and so put the publicly-owned airports at a competitive disadvantage. Ryanair added that the Commission's guidelines are based on the legally flawed Charleroi decision, which is currently being appealed in the European Courts.
Late last year, Ryanair agreed to repay €4m (£2.7m) to the Walloon authorities over subsidies for Charleroi Airport in Belgium. The Commission ruled that some of the aid Ryanair received from the Belgian regional government to fly to Charleroi airport was illegal.
Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, this afternoon said the new guidelines are discriminatory. 'This will destroy the competitiveness of the many publicly owned regional and secondary airports around Europe that are currently trying to survive and grow their passenger numbers by offering lower costs and more efficient services to airlines, which are then translated into lower fares for consumers.'
'The proof that these efforts do not involve state aid is that several of these airports, such as Glasgow Prestwick, London Luton, Stockholm Skavsta, have been bought by private companies anxious to cash in on the success of the low cost airports model,' he said.
