Ryanair told to pay back €10m in illegal state aid from France

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jul/23/ryanair-told-pay-back-illegal-state-aid-france

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Low-cost airline Ryanair must repay nearly €10m (£8m) in illegal state aid it received from France for operating at three small regional airports, European Union regulators said yesterday.

The European commission said the French support, which consisted of contractual rebates and airport and marketing deals, gave the world's biggest budget airline an unfair advantage. Ryanair said the decision was "erroneous" and it would appeal.

The EU competition watchdog said Ryanair would have to pay back €6.4m related to aid received for operating at Nîmes airport, the subject of an Air France complaint. Ryanair will also have to return €2.4m in aid connected to Pau Pyrénées airport and about €868,000 related to Angoulême airport.

The airline said the airports in question had carried a total of 3.4 million passengers, compared to 86.5 million at seven other airports where commercial arrangements had been questioned but ultimately approved.

Ryanair, whose success in securing lucrative deals from small regional airports was a significant factor in its growth to becoming the largest international carrier in Europe, said the ruling would not affect its expansion plans.