RYANAIR WELCOMES CONFIRMATION ON STATE AID RULES

RNS Number : 1665T

Ryanair Holdings PLC

01 October 2014

 



RYANAIR WELCOMES EU CONFIRMATION THAT AIRPORT AGREEMENTS AT CHARLEROI, HAHN, ALGHERO AND VASTERAS COMPLY WITH STATE AID RULES

Ryanair, Europe's favourite airline, today (1 Oct) welcomed the EU Commission's confirmation that Ryanair's airport agreements at Brussels Charleroi, Frankfurt Hahn, Alghero and Stockholm Vasteras airports comply with the Market Economy Investor Principle and do not infringe the EU State aid rules.  The Charleroi finding affirms the EU Court's December 2008 ruling and brings to an end this long-running case which the EU Commission first considered in 1999.  Today's rulings are consistent with the EU Commission's previous confirmation that Ryanair's airport agreements with Aarhus, Bratislava, Marseille, Niederrhein, Berlin Schönefeld and Tampere airports also comply with EU State aid rules.  

Ryanair noted the EU Commission's decision concerning Zweibrücken airport, where Ryanair ceased operations in 2009 having carried just 50k passengers.  All of Ryanair's airport arrangements comply with the EU State aid rules and Ryanair has therefore instructed its lawyers to appeal this ruling to the extent it alleges otherwise.

Ryanair's Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Juliusz Komorek, said:

"Today's decisions confirm that Ryanair's airport agreements at Charleroi, Hahn, Alghero and Vasteras airports comply with the Market Economy Investor Principle and involve no State aid.  This follows seven earlier positive decisions at Aarhus, Bratislava, Charleroi (in 2008), Marseille, Niederrhein, Berlin Schönefeld and Tampere airports.

Ryanair has to date carried over 136m passengers at the 10 airports where our commercial arrangements have been confirmed by the EU Commission and the EU Court to comply with EU law, compared to just 50k passengers at Zweibrücken airport where the Commission today suggested that the airport agreement did not comply with State aid rules. 

We remain committed to growing traffic from the current 87mppa to over 150mppa by 2024, in partnership with both private and public airports across Europe where all of our arrangements are arms-length commercial deals consistent with the EU Market Economy Investor Principle."

For further information

please contact:           

Robin Kiely                                         Joe Carmody 

                                    Ryanair Ltd                                         Edelman Ireland

                                    Tel: [phone]                          Tel: [phone]

                                    [e-mail]                             [e-mail] 

                                    Follow us on Twitter: @Ryanair

 

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