Ryanair wants reduced fees to operate from Oslo's Gardermoen airport.

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The chairman of the Norwegian transport committee Petter Lovik has rejected a proposal from the Irish budget airline Ryanair to launch services from Oslo's Gardermoen airport if the fees are reduced to the same level as at Sandefjord's Torp airport.

Lovik has said that he can see the need for more traffic at Gardermoen, but cannot justify treating single airlines differently.

The airport director at Gardermoen Nic Nilsen and the head of the air traffic and airport administration Randi Flesland have both called for more flexibility in the fees at the Gardermoen airport. The airport would like to compete with Torp for the launch of new international routes, reported Romerikes Blad, a Norwegian newspaper. Gardermoen has apparently been struggling financially and the fees it has to charge take away the chance to compete with Torp.

Tine Mathisen, the marketing director at Torp airport has confirmed that Ryanair pays less than the airline would pay at Gardermoen but has denied that it only pays a tenth of the estimated NOK1.3m it would have to pay in Oslo.

Ryanair reportedly transports about 15,000 travellers on 13 weekly departures between Sandefjord and London, UK each month.

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