Two more low-cost airlines agreed to fly out of Belgium's Charleroi airport yesterday, just days after Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary said an EU ruling on subsidies at the airport spelled doom for the sector.

The Belgian region of Wallonia, which owns Charleroi airport, said two airlines serving destinations in Poland and Italy would start flights as early as next month, making them the airport's first scheduled routes not operated by Ryanair.

"I always said I didn't want \ to be 'Ryanair airport'," said Walloon Economics Minister Mr Serge Kubla.

The European Commission said earlier this week that Ryanair would have to pay back up to €4 million in artificially low landing fees and other charges at the airport, ruling that Ryanair had received illegal subsidies.

The Walloon government appears to have taken this on board - Poland's Air Polonia and France's Axis Airways will get short-term help promoting their routes to Warsaw, Katowice and Pescara, but not the discounted landing fees given to Ryanair.

Shares in Ryanair fell by 1.5 per cent to €5.20 in Dublin yesterday, as analysts predicted that they would hover within a tight trading range around €5.00 until greater clarity emerged on the airline's yield profile.

- (Additional reporting, Reuters)