Originally Posted by
Cautious Optimist
The Mayor said in a reply to his Facebook post that Ryanair weren't being subsidised whatsoever, however he boasts that he saved the airport from closure which isn't true so I guess he wouldn't think twice about telling porkies about that.
I guess it depends on your definition of a subsidy. It would be normal for a new airline coming in to have reduced/zero landing fees for a period of time plus some financial/marketing support for setting up at a new airport. That's quite different to underwriting so many seats on each plane (as per NQY-LON) but it is still a form of subsidy.