Ryanair plane seized by French government in financial dispute

A Ryanair plane was immobilized and seized on Thursday in what the French authorities call "a last resort" in the context of an ongoing financial dispute with the low-cost airline about government subsidies, according to the BBC .

The plane, a Boeing 737, had 149 passengers on board and had to fly to England when the French Civil Aviation Authority seized the plane. and stated that he "will remain immobilized until the sum is paid," the source of information said.

Ryanair allegedly received French subsidies which were subsequently declared illegal. The French authorities did not comment on the amount due, but the regional airport officials told the BBC that this amount was just under $ 560,000.

Ryanair has not responded to FortuneRequest for comment.

Thursday's incident comes at the top of a recent list of issues for Ryanair, including flight cancellations due to problems within the airline.

Earlier this year, the low-cost airline had to cancel flights at the peak of the summer holidays, after its pilots held a series of strikes demanding better wages and a better system of transfers and promotions. .

It was not the first time that the Dublin-based airline had internal problems on the surface. In 2017, thousands of Ryanair flights were canceled after a backlog of personnel left them with no one to fly their planes and reduced the number of flights for 2018. This ordeal led Airhelp, an adviser to sector, to rank among the worst airlines in the world. year.

Earlier this week, Ryanair fired a crew of six after a photo of them sleeping in an office drew criticism of the airline. According to Ryanair, the photo was staged while the Portuguese cabin crew union was defending the crew.