French authorities stopped a Ryanair plane in Bordeaux on Thursday en route to London.

The plane with 149 passengers on board was seized by the authorities with a demand that Ryanair repay French subsidies to the company in 2008-2009. These are considered invalid by the EU, and the French aviation authority regretted that the measure was a last resort to resolve the situation.

The same authority added that the aircraft will remain in their hands until Ryanair pays the amount, reports the BBC.

The passengers were eventually able to travel to London on Thursday using another Ryanair plane, but were delayed by a total of five hours due to the incident.

Source: finwire