FRENCH officials have upped the ante in the country’s ongoing dispute with Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair over state subsidies, seizing a Boeing 737 aircraft at Bordeaux Airport.
Passengers had boarded the plane which was just about to take off for London Stansted.
They were forced to disembark and take a later flight, with the French civil aviation authority saying it was “unfortunate that the state had to take such action, which led to the inevitable inconvenience of the 149 passengers on board the immobilised plane”.
The dispute dates back to 2008 when the local government paid subsidies to airlines to operate flights from Angouleme airport, which were later deemed illegal by the European Commission.
France appears to have had difficulty in recovering the “incompatible aid” from Ryanair, in response to an EC order requiring the country to “level the playing field”.
The aircraft is now flying again after Ryanair reportedly repaid 525,000 in subsidies on Fri.
Source: traveldaily