Low-cost airline Ryanair, already under investigation by the European Commission, could be facing another examination from Brussels, the British Business newspaper reported yesterday.

The Commission has been asked by an unnamed aviation company to investigate all present and future deals between low-cost carriers and state-aided secondary airports near primary hubs that receive no government aid, the report said, citing an industry source.

"This company has called on the Commission to produce an assessment of all airports around the community where there is or will be state-owned secondarycompetition," an industry source was quoted as saying.

A Commission spokesman said it was not opening any new cases regarding airlines and state aid but has received two complaints about Strasbourg and Pau airports in France along the same lines of the complaints in the Ryanair-Charleroi case.

The Commission is expected to rule in the next few weeks on whether Ryanair benefited from illegal state aid to fly into the airport of Charleroi, a city south of Brussels.

The Business newspaper said the request by the aviation company was prompted by an approach Ryanair has received to set itself up in two state-owned Spanish airports.

A Ryanair spokeswoman declined to comment but said the airline was in talks with 50 airports about setting up routes. The company currently flies out of 186 airports. - (Reuters)