Ryanair expects EC to seek repayments

Low-cost airline Ryanair said today that it expects the European Commission to seek repayments for funding received by the airline to run operations from its continental hub at Belgium's Charleroi airport.

"There are portions of the arrangement that are going to be repaid. It's going to be in millions of euros," Ryanair official Jim Callaghan told journalists following a meeting with commission officials.

The commission is due to announce next Tuesday its decision on whether Ryanair's contract with the publicly-owned airport at Charleroi amounts to illegal state aid.

The group is announcing their Q3 results tomorrow, after having brought them forward to avoid a clash with the EC's hearing on the February 3.