Brussels, 12/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On the evening of Friday 9 January, the Cypriot government announced the “immediate end of the flight programme of Cyprus Airways”, the national airline, which was ordered by the European Commission the same day to reimburse incompatible aid of a total amount of €65 million plus interest (see EUROPE 11227). The Cypriot government pledged that it would “bear in full the costs of alternative flights, meaning that there will be no extra charges to passengers”. The airline, 93.67% of which is owned by the State, recorded losses of €55.8 million in 2012 and has been bailed out several times since 2007. Airlines “cannot and should not count on taxpayers' money to remain artificially on the market”, explained Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition. (EL)