Ryanair has no intention of just accepting it if European countries keep their national airlines afloat with state aid. The low coster’s CEO Michael O’Leary wrote this in a letter to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. He threatens to go to court.
O’Leary is opposed to “arbitrarily giving billions of euros from EU countries to their inefficient national societies”. He believes that all European airlines, including Ryanair, should be eligible for loans guaranteed by EU countries and “other benefits”. That should be done based on how much air traffic they provide in a particular country.
If that doesn’t happen, Ryanair will go to court. In a victory, O’Leary says the EU will be “forced to embarrassment”.
The Irish budget airline’s threat poses the risk of delaying support for European airlines. France and the Netherlands virtually agree with Air France-KLM to guarantee billions of euros in loans and Lufthansa is in talks with the German government. Italy now wants to acquire the bankrupt Alitalia itself.