The European Commission said on Wednesday that low-fare airline Ryanair must repay about 9.6 million euros in illegal state aid it received for its operations in several French regional airports. The Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said Ryanair would have to repay 868,000 euros ($1.16 billion) related to rebates and marketing arrangements negotiated at Angouleme airport in central France.
Ryanair had enjoyed "an undue advantage" and should repay the money so as to "remove the distortion of competition," the Commission said in a statement. Similar findings at Pau Pyrenees airport required a repayment of 2.4 million euros with 6.4 million euros repayable at Nimes airport, both in southern France, it said.