Ryanair slashes 13 Marseilles routes

“Ryanair defies courts by closing French lines,” headlines Les Echos. In the wake of legal proceedings filed by French authorities at the end of September, the Irish low-cost airline has announced that it will close its only French base in Marseille in January 2011. The case against Ryanair is based on a decree “published in France shortly after the opening of the Ryanair base in Marseille.” The daily explainsthat according to the decree, which contradicts EU legislation, “mobile transport workers based on French territory are employed in France, and should pay French taxes and social insurance charges.” In contrast, the European Directive on transport workers stipulates that air crews should pay their taxes in the country where the aircraft they work on are registered. In closing 13 domestic and international routes from Marseille, Ryanair will lose one million passengers in 2011.