Ryanair said today it would close its Brussels-London route from April 29th as part of its response to the European Commission's ruling on its use of Brussels Charleroi airport in Belgium.
Ryanair said this would mean a 10 per cent reduction in daily flights at the airport.
Earlier this month, Ryanair was ordered to repay millions of euros in Belgian subsidies, a decision its chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary described as a disaster for budget travel and traffic-starved regional airports.
The European Commission decided some of the hand-outs paid to use Charleroi airport in Belgium broke EU law and Ryanair would have to return about €4 million of €15 million in state aid.