23rd Sep 2025 11:27
(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC on Tuesday said it will appeal an European Commission order for France to recover payments made to the budget carrier by Carcassonne airport in the far southwest of the country.
The EU on Monday ordered the French government to recover EUR1.8 million from Ryanair, after concluding the Dublin-based airline had wrongly received state aid from the entity managing Carcassonne airport, AFP reported.
The European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, opened a probe in 2012 to determine whether Ryanair and the airport's former manager struck agreements that were in line with the bloc's state aid rules.
The investigation found 11 contracts with the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Carcassonne-Limoux-Castelnaudary, CCI, a public entity and the airport's manager until 2011, "conferred an advantage on Ryanair", the commission said.
"The profitability of the contracts evolved to the benefit of Ryanair because CCI started paying higher marketing fees to Ryanair, for similar services, while reducing its passenger charges," it added.
The commission concluded the total advantage amounted to EUR1.8 million.
"France must now recover the incompatible aid, plus interest."
Ryanair responded on Tuesday that it will appeal the EC decision through the courts.
"We are confident that the court will recognise the arms-length nature of our historic - 2001-2011 - commercial deals with Carcassonne airport, which have delivered much needed traffic and connectivity to this peripheral region," the company said in a statement.
Ryanair also highlighted the state aid that was provided to Europe's flag carriers, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France KLM SA, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission's competition directorate "has now yet again demonstrated that its enforcement of state aid law is selective and biased", Ryanair asserted.
Ryanair shares were up 2.6% to EUR23.25 midday Tuesday in Frankfurt. They are up 41% over the past 12 months.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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