EU Commission investigating if Ryanair received illegal state aid

The EC is investigating whether Ryanair received illegal state aid from regional and local authorities in France. The news comes as the airline faces a possible strike by Irish-based pilots and potential industrial unrest on other fronts. Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, said Wednesday that Brussels is investigating whether an agreement between Ryanair and the Association for the Promotion of Touristic and Economic Flows (APFTE) that the airline promote the area around Montpellier airport amounted to illegal state aid. EU law bans state aid to businesses where it distorts normal commercial competition and gives them an unfair advantage. According to Vestager, Ryanair received substantial payments from APFTE for promoting Montpellier as a tourist destination on its website. <br/>