News: Ryanair wins case against flights cuts at Rome Ciampino
Flights > News > # 1563 (07/11/2007)
Italy's highest administrative court on Wednesday accepted an appeal by low-cost carrier Ryanair against planned flight cuts at Rome's smaller Ciampino airport.
The court's decision suspends a plan by Italy's aviation authority ENAC to reduce the total number of flights out of Ciampino by various airlines to 100 from 138 after complaints from residents of congestion and noise.
A definitive decision will only be taken at a later stage when a court decides on the merits of the case.
Wednesday's ruling was "good for Roman jobs, tourism and consumers," Ryanair said in a statement.
It accused the Italian authorities of trying to block the availability of low fares in Rome and said it was confident the move to reduce flights would be rejected in the final court decision.
Ryanair, which has also asked the European Commission to intervene, says military aircraft are to blame for the noise at night.
Ryanair has dismissed ENAC's claim that runway repairs are also a reason for the cuts, which it said were the result of "bogus restrictions by the Italian government" aimed at helping Italy's ailing flagship carrier Alitalia.
Ryanair has said the planned traffic cut will force it to cancel 66 flights a week, or about 12 percent of its flights out of Ciampino, Rome's second-largest airport.
Ryanair has repeatedly criticised what it says is Italian state support for loss-making Alitalia.
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