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Angouleme airport could be set to lose its London Stansted service, as a row over subsidies threatens to boil over, according to SudOuest.

Socialist Charente president Michel Boutant is angry that no frills airline Ryanair is attempting to re-negotiate their deal with the local authorities, in which they already receive subsidies of around 925,000 euros over the five year term of the agreement. The deal which runs from 2008 to 2012, involves subsidies of 400,000 for 2008, 300,000 for 2009, and 225,000 for 2010, with no payments for 2011/12.

In a letter dated 3 December, Ryanair cite the financial crisis as a reason for seeking to change the terms of the deal, before demanding a payment for 2010 amounting to 400,000 euros, an increase of 175,000.  The letter openly suggests that the London Stansted route could be closed if a deal were not to be reached, and set the local government a deadline of 10 December to respond. 

A furious Michel Boutant described the move by Ryanair as blackmail, and denounced their behaviour, pointing out that Ryanair made a profit for the first 6 months of 2009 of 387 million euros.

CCI president Daniel Braud and Patrick Berthault (Smac president) joined Michel Boutant in denouncing the move, saying “we cannot yield to a company that uses this money [the subsidy] to exert an unfair advantage over its competitors.  With public money, Ryanair lowers the price of its tickets to choke its rivals...”

In reality, there is little that the local authorities can do to prevent Ryanair walking away from the deal.  The financial penalty for breaking the agreement could come in at as little as 50,000 euros, something the company is well able to afford.  A withdrawal of the service would be a blow for local expats, with holiday businesses likely to suffer most.

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