Providing an accurate estimation of Ryanair’s total income from airport subsidies is a highly hazardous endeavor. Because of the inherently private nature of bilateral agreements between airports and the airline, there is hardly a reliable way of keeping proper tracking of the exact amount of subsidies given to Ryanair and of the number of airports doing so. However, extrapolations based on known facts and data about airport’s and Ryanair can provide an idea of what airport’s subsidies represent in the company’s total revenues. In March 2010, competing airline company Air France-KLM filed a lawsuit in Bruxelles against Ryanair on grounds that it was receiving illegal aids and disrupting competition. In doing so the attacking company provided some estimations of the amount of aid received by Ryanair. According to its own, allegedly conservative, estimation, the Irish airline benefits from at least € 10 to € 11 subsidies per passenger. An in-depth look would reveal that this was actually calculated from average subsidies per passengers from French airports and extrapolated to the rest of Europe. But recent inquiries into the legality of state-aids received by Ryanair all over Europe would tend to corroborate the fact that Ryanair does benefit from airport subsidies all over Europe. Such per passenger amounts lead to a gross estimation of total state-aid received of around € 665 million, postulating an average € 10 per passenger transported: 66,5 million (scheduled passengers in 2010) x € 10 (lower-end estimation of per passenger state-aids received) = € 665 million Interestingly, and as has been widely underlined, such amount of state-aid represent a large part of Ryanair’s operating revenue, and, from an accounting point of view, any loss of it would jeopardize Ryanair’s yearly revenue.
Right and we take Air France's word on it......after all its not like they are protected from competition or receive French sudsidies or even more direct the control of slots all across the main cities.
Taking a number, shouting about it and keeping claiming it doesn't make it correct or accurate.