Ryanair has said it will sue French charter airline, Air Méditerranée, over allegations of unfair competition on routes between London and airports in the Pyrénées region of France.

Air Méditerranée has claimed that passenger numbers on its London and Tarbes-Lourdes route have dropped by 30 per cent since Ryanair launched a service between London and neighbouring Pau earlier this year.

Ryanair yesterday dismissed this by releasing figures from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority pointing to a 70 per cent rise in Air Méditerranée's traffic at Tarbes-Lourdes since the Irish airline's arrival at Pau.

Air Méditerranée has launched legal action against Ryanair over the incentive payments it has received from Pau airport, alleging that these are unfair.

The company's chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary said yesterday he had not yet received official notification of Air Méditerranée's action on the incentive payments and predicted that it would "not see the light of day in court".

Nobody was available for comment at Air Méditerranée last night.