The European Commission is investigating whether an agreement between Ryanair and the Association for the Promotion of Touristic and Economic Flows (APFTE) to promote the area around Montpellier Airport in France constituted illegal state aid.
As reported by The Irish Times, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated, "We will investigate whether regional and local authorities in France granted an undue economic advantage to Ryanair over its competitors, potentially harming other European airlines and having spill-over effects to other European regions."
Ryanair responded by saying, "All of Ryanair's airport arrangements comply fully with EU state aid rules and we are confident that the EU will find our Montpellier deal is in line with EU state aid rules."
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
