EU to query French, German, Irish aid for airports

BRUSSELS: European Union anti-trust regulators are to investigate whether fee cuts to airlines granted by France's Marseille airport and loans provided to Frankfurt Hahn airport in Germany breach EU state aid rules.

The European Commission, tasked with ensuring a level playing field in the 27-European Union, also said on Wednesday it would probe lower taxes for air passengers in Ireland that benefited mainly domestic flights.

"The Commission also has a duty to avoid distortions of competition within the EU's single market and some of the regional airports in Europe are no longer so new or small," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

The Commission said it doubted that 7.58 million euros of subsidies given to the Marseille airport for building its low-cost terminal were necessary. It also said lower fees charged to airlines using the facility might give them an unfair advantage.

Marseille airport is France's fourth largest for passenger traffic.

The regulator will also investigate the refinancing of loans and a credit line provided to Frankfurt Hahn airport, the 10th-largest for passenger numbers in Germany.

The Commission opened an investigation in June into financing for infrastructure at the Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany, just a month after launching a probe into Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air's deals with Romania's Timisoara airport.

Copyright Reuters, 2011