EC reopens probe into Ryanair's Charleroi

The EC said it had "extended the scope" of an investigation dating back to December 2002 which looked at "advantages" granted to Ryanair when it started operating at Belgium's Charleroi airport. The EC has also opened two new "in-depth" investigations into the financing of Angoulême airport in France and Dortmund airport in Germany. In 2004 Ryanair was ordered to re-pay some funds received from Belgian authorities that were deemed to be incompatible with European state aid rules. However, this was over-ruled by a European court in 2008 which said the Commission had not followed correct procedures. Ryanair's spokesman, Stephen McNamara, said: "Ryanair's arrangements with all EU airports comply with competition rules. This latest Commission goose chase is hard to understand when at the same time it bans its bureaucrats from using low fares airlines or even travelling to Charleroi airport."