Ryanair plane impounded by French authorities in a cash row

The French Civil Aviation Authority said “ It is unfortunate that the state had to seize a Ryanair plane in a row over money which led to the inevitable inconvenience of the 149 passengers on board the immobilised plane. Those passengers were able to eventually reach their destination later that evening on another Ryanair plane, but with a five-hour delay. The plane will remain immobilised until the sum is paid. The move was a last resort”.

The dispute was caused by French subsidies paid to Ryanair for flights from Angouleme regional airport between 2008 and 2009, which the European Commission in 2014 ruled that subsidies Ryanair received from a regional authority was deemed illegal and had to be repaid but the airline had not complied despite several warnings. Plane was close to take-off for London Stanstead, when bailiff declared it seized on tarmac.

Ryanair reported a 11 per cent increase in traffic in October, as it carried 13.1 million passengers.