Originally Posted by
WorldLux
The above suggests that BA has to pay out for runways and Crossrail out of their own pocket which isn't the case. There's no doubt that the ME3 receive subsidies in various forms (infrastructure, loans, etc.), but I doubt that there's any airline out there currently receiving no subsidy whatsoever. BA is likely to receive subsidies to open/keep open some of their routes, a game played to the extreme by FR.
Moreover, BA was a nationalised company from 1939 to 1984 and did certainly receive similar aids during that period. Same goes for Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, etc.
State aid to airlines operates under a highly restrictive framework within the EU. State-owned carriers cannot turn to their owners for funding injections, unless these are explicitly authorised.
European carriers certainly do receive subsidies from governments to operate routes deemed as essential for social-economic reasons. But the subsidy is authorised and regulated under the EU PSO legislation. There are similar programmes operating in the US and Australia.
Much of the aid received by Ryanair, and other LCCs, is trickier - it is generally not state aid, nor is it aimed at keeping the airline afloat: rather it is provided by regional authorities to promote accessibility and tourism. to the area under their jurisdiction.
There's an interesting but rather dense paper on subsidies to aviation available through MDPI