Ryanair welcomes Charleroi airport ruling

Ryanair today (Wednesday, 17th December 2008) welcomed the decision of the European Court of First Instance (CFI), which overturned the European Commission’s 2004 decision on Ryanair’s base agreement with Charleroi airport.

Ryanair is also calling on the European Commission to drop its cases against a number of similar airports including Alghero, Aarhus, Bratislava, Hahn, Lubeck, Pau, Schonefeld and Tampere.

Commenting today in Brussels following the decision of the CFI, Ryanair’s Jim Callaghan said:

“Ryanair is delighted with the Court’s decision. Charleroi airport has been the model of how small regional and secondary airports around Europe can transform themselves from unused, loss-making facilities into profitable commercial entities, which are providing lower costs, competition and choice for European consumers - just as Ryanair has for airline flights. This complaint was originally brought by Brussels Zaventem Airport in an effort to block competition from Charleroi Airport and the Commission should have rejected it.

“Charleroi has proven in the past four years that their model works. They have built a new low cost terminal, based on the success of their agreement with Ryanair, and other airlines have arrived in Charleroi as a result. The airport has been profitable each year for the past four years, which disproves the Commission’s claims they would be loss making for the term of the Ryanair contract.

“Today’s decision now clarifies that the low cost airports model works and does not involve state aid and Ryanair now calls on the Commission to drop their other complaints against similar small regional and secondary airports (Alghero, Aarhus, Bratislava, Hahn, Lubeck, Pau, Schonefeld, Tampere) – most of which have again been brought by competitors trying to block competition.”