Ryanair ‘must repay E4m in subsidies’

A BELGIAN regional government has sent a letter to Irish no-frills airline Ryanair asking it to refund E4 million in subsidies the European Union deemed illegal, a spokesman at Charleroi airport said on Tuesday.

In February, EU competition regulators ordered Ryanair to repay several million euro in subsidies to the southern Belgian region of Wallonia, saying incentives it received for setting up a hub at State-owned Charleroi airport were illegal under EU law.

The head of Charleroi airport, Laurent Jossart, was quoted last week as saying the region and the airport would ask Ryanair to reimburse some E4m.

“The letter was sent on Monday,” a spokesman for the airport said. He declined further comment on the content of the letter but confirmed it was the letter that Jossart had referred to.

The commission had earlier granted Wallonia an extension until September 15 before it had to start recovering the funds.