Ryanair accuses Air France KLM of receiving French state aid

The Irish firm said its rival had unfairly benefited from discounted landing and passenger charges of up to 50% on flights within France.

Air France responded by saying all airline fees set by Paris applied equally to all carriers.

Ryanair is demanding that Brussels makes Air France KLM repay the cash.

Although Air France and KLM joined together in May 2004, both airlines have kept their individual brand names, and maintain their own customer-facing operations.

In February 2004 the European Commission found that Ryanair had itself received more than 4m euros in illegal state aid from the Wallonia regional government in Belgium.