According to Politico, the association has taken the matter to the High Court of Ireland following several months of attempts to persuade the EU and Irish aviation authorities to investigate Ryanair’s ownership structure.
The ENAA confirmed to Politico that it had repeatedly called on regulators to check Ryanair’s compliance with European rules. According to the association, the Irish Civil Aviation Authority showed no willingness to intervene, so the dispute was taken to court.
However, Ryanair will not automatically lose its licence: such an outcome is only possible if the company fails to comply with the court’s ruling.
The dispute concerns the proportion of European shareholders
Under EU rules, an airline must be predominantly owned by EU citizens or organisations and effectively controlled by them. The ENAA believes that Ryanair no longer meets these requirements. The association cites a statement from the company itself, according to which EU citizens hold only 30 per cent of its shares.
Ryanair rejects the claims. The company asserts that shareholders from countries outside the EU have no voting rights, meaning that control of the airline remains in European hands.
The Irish company has also accused its competitors of attempting to restrict competition and passenger choice in the EU air transport market.
Augusto Viasson Ponte, director of the consultancy firm Alton Aviation Consultancy, believes it is unlikely that Ryanair will have its licence revoked, but does not expect the legal dispute to be resolved easily.
“The ENAA’s request is sufficiently well-founded to warrant consideration, but it is still too early to say that Ryanair is breaching the rules,” the analyst noted. According to him, should the court rule against Ryanair, the airline could consider several courses of action: restricting the purchase of shares by investors from non-EU countries, transferring a portion of its shares to European investors, carrying out a targeted share buyback, or restructuring its subsidiaries that hold air transport licences.
It should be noted that Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline founded in 1984. It is part of Ryanair Holdings, Europe’s largest airline group by passenger numbers, and specialises primarily in short-haul flights. Its business model is based on low base fares and additional charges for a range of services.
This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.
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