Fresh legal blow for Ryanair

BUDGET airline Ryanair may suspend its Strasbourg to London service for a year after a French court refused to stay an earlier ruling that aid to help it launch the service was illegal.

The Bas-Rhin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which manages the airport in eastern France, promised in June 2002 to give the carrier e1.4m (£1m) to set up two daily round-trip flights between London's Stansted and the capital of the Alsace region.

The deal was challenged by Brit Air, a subsidiary of French flag carrier Air France.

Ryanair said in August it would have to suspend the service from September 24 but it hoped to obtain a stay so it could resume the service.

The court has now declined to grant this and Ryanair said the service would be suspended pending the appeal, which could take a year.

The Ireland-based company has set up a service to London from Baden Baden, Germany, across the border from Strasbourg, to replace the French route. Strasbourg accounted for about 1% of Ryanair's network.

Stockbrokers in Dublin, saying the main focus remained a probe by the European Commission of Ryanair's deal to fly in and out of Charleroi Airport near Brussels.

The EU decision in that case, which is expected in October or November, is likely to have far-reaching implications on deals Ryanair and other no-frills carriers have struck to fly to secondary airports throughout Europe.

Ryanair shares fell 12p to 447 1/2p.