A French court has refused Ryanair to stay an earlier ruling that decided aid to help it launch a Strasbourg-London service was illegal.
The airline said today it would halt service on the route pending the outcome of the appeal, which would take more than a year to be heard.
Ryanair said its reaction to the decision of the Nancy Court of Appeals was one of "total dismay".
The court rejected Ryanair's application for a stay on the decision of the Administrative Tribunal in Strasbourg. The Tribunal required the Strasbourg Chamber of Commerce to terminate its commercial agreement with Ryanair on September 24th.
Ryanair announced on August 24th that it would haveto temporarily suspend its services on the route pending the outcome of its appeal.
Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs, Jim Callaghan, said:"We are dismayed with the Court's decision rejecting ourapplication for a stay on the Tribunal's decision, which would have enabled us to reinstate our highly successful London-Strasbourg route."
He said the route would be suspended and Strasbourg airport would "continue to decline with the loss of 200,000 passengers delivered by Ryanair".