Gdynia protests EU airport competition ruling
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
11.02.2014 14:20
The mayor of Gdynia has said he “does not agree” with a European Commission decision that state aid worth over 20 million euros given to a local airport broke EU competition law.
The European Commission (EC) said on Tuesday that the aid given to Gdynia airport to transform what has been a military facility to a civil one must be given back, as gives it an unfair advantage over nearby Gdansk airport.
Gdynia mayor Wojciech Szczurek said in a statement sent to the PAP news agency, however, that giving back the funds could bankrupt the airport’s company and they would push ahead with the renovation regardless.
"The company carried out due diligence in accordance with EU law and legal and economic analysis of the aviation market,” Szczurek said.
The EC said however that the "traffic and revenues projected in Gdynia's business plan were not realistic" as Gdansk airport is only currently running at 60 percent capacity.
Gdynia had intended to use the old ‘Babie Doły’ military airport to attract low-cost airlines to the facility. (pg)
source: PAP