Ryanair says now it will focus on Girona airport if the Catalan Government pays up

Barcelona (ACN).- Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has urged the Catalan Government to pay the 11,5 million euros agreed between the Irish airline and the former Catalan Executive a few months ago. In a press conference in Madrid, O’Leary said that Ryanair’s reception of this amount of money is the only way to recover growth in the aiport of Girona, in north Catalonia, in the heart of the tourist area of the Costa Brava. In times of severe public expenditure reduction, the Catalan Government asked Ryanair for some time to study how to plan the public financial help to Ryanair agreed by the former executive. The help is to ensure and foster Ryanair’s presence in Girona, which aims at boosting Girona’s airport between 2011 and 2016.

Ryanair cancelled 28% of its flights from Girona from May onwards. This will mean a reduction of 64 routes to 46, a decrease defined by the Catalan Government as a “serious threat” to the future of Girona’s airport. In fact, the Irish airline operates 90% of all flights in Girona, making the airport very dependant on it. The company even threatened the institutions with leaving only “2 or 3 planes” in Girona.

O’Leary said on Tuesday that Ryanair’s decision to reduce its presence in Girona was due to the “lack of commitment” from the new Catalan Government with the airline. However, the Catalan Executive said that they needed to review the pre-agreement reached between Ryanair and the former Government. They warned the airline that the Catalan Government would not “give privileges to an Irish company” that has already received many public subsidies in a moment of public expenditure cuts; in a moment when the Government is discussing also with “Catalan companies about how to face the current difficult” economical situation.

The pre-agreement reached between Ryanair and the former Government included the payment of 11,5 million euros in 5 years if the airline arrived to the target of transporting 4 million passengers per year. Only if this agreement is ratified with the payment of 11.5 million euros, O’Leary thinks that the airport would recover its levels of growth. Girona’s airport has been experiencing a sustainable growth in the last 9 years, and the Irish airline said it was “good business”. Ryanair’s CEO said that the airline aims to continue operations in Girona’s airport, but –while the decision about the subsidies is still on stand-by- he stated that its expansion in Catalonia will only focus on the airports of Barcelona and Reus, avoiding Girona.