The European Union on Monday ordered France to recover 1.8 million euros ($2.1 million) from Ryanair, after concluding the low-cost Irish airline had wrongly received state aid from the entity managing Carcassonne airport.

The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust watchdog, opened a probe in 2012 to determine whether Ryanair and the airport’s former manager struck agreements that were in line with the bloc’s state aid rules.

The investigation found 11 contracts with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Carcassonne-Limoux-Castelnaudary (CCI), a public entity and the airport’s manager until 2011, “conferred an advantage on Ryanair”, the commission said.

“The profitability of the contracts evolved to the benefit of Ryanair because CCI started paying higher marketing fees to Ryanair, for similar services, while reducing its passenger charges,” it added.

READ ALSO: FG Constitutes Committee To Investigate DICON Explosion

The commission concluded the total advantage amounted to 1.8 million euros.

“France must now recover the incompatible aid, plus interest.”

AFP