“ENAA’s request is sufficiently well-founded to justify examination, but it is way too early to say that Ryanair is violating the rules,” he said.
Regardless of the legal outcome, Viansson Ponte said that a “likely first step would be corrective measures, not immediate grounding.”
Even if the court rules against the budget airline, Ryanair would have several options to address any compliance problems, the analyst said.
“Ryanair could restrict non-EU [share] purchases, facilitate transfers of shares to EU investors, implement targeted share buybacks or restructure its licensed subsidiaries for example,” he said, adding that the process “should be manageable” for the airline.
Enemies in court, friends in Brussels
Despite their spat, Ryanair, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM all belong to the Brussels-based Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby, and all are pushing for a reform of the Air Services Regulation, which sets the rules for operating in the EU, including ownership and control.
The lobby’s members jointly support providing “more flexibility … and tackle the risks linked to this change,” they said in feedback to the Commission.