The French city of Pau said yesterday it was ending the subsidies it pays RYANAIR to maintain flights there because the Irish low-cost Airline's demands were "intolerable" and amounted to blackmail. The chamber of commerce in Pau, which runs the southwestern city's Airport, has informed Ryanair of its decision "not to pay another penny in fees," said a Chamber official said. Ryanair had asked Pau to hike its subsidies from 1.4 million euros a year to 1.5 million if it wants to maintain flights to Britain, Belgium and Paris, the official said, calling the demand "financial blackmail." "The situation had become intolerable," he said. The official went on to say that it was now up to the Airline to decide if it wanted to maintain its routes or not, and added that low-cost airlines CITYJET and FLYBE were starting up routes from Pau without being promised any subsidies. He said that if Ryanair services from Pau cease when its contract expires in April, this could cause a "small drop in traffic" but this would be "quickly compensated" for by other services and would not impact on jobs. Ryanair mostly flies to cheaper and less busy airports across Europe where it pays a fraction of the fees charged at major hubs and where it can achieve faster turnaround times for its planes. It often pressures regional authorities to provide financial aid in return for its continued presence.