Airline advisers collect €24m

ADVISERS to Aer Lingus on its defence against Ryanair’s hostile bid have picked up €24 million in fees.

Aer Lingus said yesterday that its various external financial, legal and communications advisers were paid €7.8m in the six months to end June.

That figure is on top of the €16.2m it spent between October and December 2006 when at the height of the defence of Ryanair’s €1.4 billion offer for the company.