Ryanair to appeal EC ruling next month - report

Low-cost airline Ryanair is set to launch its appeal against the European Commission's ruling that it received illegal state aid at Charleroi airport in May, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The commission ruled in February that €4m out of €15m of incentives paid to Ryanair by Charleroi airport, which is owned by the local Walloon government, amounted to illegal state aid.

Ryanair will appeal the decision in the European Court of First Instance, a process which could take up to two years, in the hope of avoiding having to repay the subsidies, said the report.