Ryanair wants/gets a subsidy of €1.147.260 (over 3 years) for the route from Gerona to Oostende.
Apparently the regional officials think a route from Gerona to Ostend is going to bring a flood of Catalonian tourists to Bruges (and Ostend).
The routes from Gerona and Malaga are in any case likely to create some jobs (at the airport for example), and having the word
Bruges on the Ryanair route map is promotion in itself. Some German guy checking out the routes from Hahn for a citytrip, notices the Ostend/Bruges dot and considers "hey maybe I could drive there for a break"... Londoners reading the inflight magazine and seeing Bruges in the destination guide may think "Oh, it might be nice to go visit Bruges one day by ferry/eurostar"... etc.
Het Nieuwsblad - Gemeente Oostende: Ryanair keert terug naar luchthaven Oostende