Agrees to repay EUR4m pending

Ryanair Holdings PLC
28 October 2004


                RYANAIR AGREES TO REPAY €4M PENDING COURT APPEAL
                      OF EU's UNLAWFUL CHARLEROI DECISION

Ryanair, Europe's No.1 low fares airline, today (Thursday, 28th October 2004)
confirmed it had written to the Walloon authorities and agreed to repay €4M in
an escrow account until Ryanair's appeal is heard and the European Courts make a
definitive decision on this matter. If Ryanair is successful in its appeal,
these funds along with interest will be returned to Ryanair. If the appeal
fails, these funds will be transferred to the Region.

In a detailed written response to the Walloon region, Ryanair confirmed:

 1. Ryanair's costs of establishing and operating its base at Charleroi at €40M
    vastly exceeded any discounts received from the Walloon region, and the
    European Commission's decision entitles Ryanair to net our costs off against
    those of the Region. There is therefore no requirementfor any repayment.

 2. The Commission's request for details on a 'route by route basis' confirms
    the Commissions total lack of understanding of the costs and risks involved
    in establishing a base of operations at completely unknown and unused
    airport - basing 3 aircraft and simultaneously launching 6 new routes. These
    enormous costs cannot be identified on a 'route by route basis'.

 3. The Commission's conclusion that 'no private operator in the same
    circumstances as BSCA would have granted the same advantages (to Ryanair) is
    factually untrue and legally untenable. Ryanair has previously offered
    evidence to the Commission confirming Ryanair receives lower costs at many
    competing private airports and that Charleroi is one of Ryanair's more
    expensive base deals. The Commission has totally ignored this factual
    evidence.

 4. The effect of the Commission's flawed decision to impose full costs on
    Ryanair at Charleroi from 2001 onwards now makes Charleroi considerably more
    expensive than other competing privately owned bases at the time and is a
    complete distortion of competition when huge discounts and incentives are
    being offered by both public and private airports throughout Europe to
    airlines (not just Ryanair) in exchange for delivering new routes and
    enormous traffic growth.

 5. We have appealed the Commission's flawed decision to the European Court of
    the First Instance and we are confident this decision will be overturned, as
    this decision perverts fair and open competition, is highly damaging to the
    competitiveness of public regional and secondary airports, and will force
    consumers to pay higher fares at Charleroi in order to protect the high cost
    Zaventem airport

 6. We have been advised that it is unlikely that any national court would
    enforce an application by the Walloon region to force Ryanair to pay any
    amount claimed until the Court of First Instance has considered Ryanair's
    appeal.

 7. However Ryanair recognises that it is not the Walloon region that is pushing
    this issue and we have no desire to place the Region in a difficult position
    because of a legally flawed decision by the Commission. Therefore Ryanair
    has agreed, under protest and without prejudice to the outcome of the
    appeal, to place the requested €4M funds in an agreed interest bearing
    escrow account until the European Courts make a definitive decision on this
    matter.

 8. When Ryanair is successful in its appeal, the Region will agree that these
    funds along with interest will be returned to Ryanair. If the appeal fails,
    Ryanair will agree that these funds will be transferred in their entirety to
    the Region.

Ryanair's head of Communications, Paul Fitzsimmons said:

        'Ryanair is confident that the unlawful decision of the European
        Commission will be overturned by the European Court and that the Court
        will promote the enormously successful partnership between low fares
        airlines and regional airports, which has enabled millions of ordinary
        consumers to fly at Europe's lowest fares and encourage the development
        of unused, empty secondary and regional airports at Brussels Charleroi
        and throughout Europe'.

Ends.                          Thursday, 28th October 2004

For further information:

Paul Fitzsimmons - Ryanair     Pauline McAlester - Murray Consultants
Tel: [phone]         Tel: [phone]



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