Irish carrier Ryanair has had talks with Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's economic development agency yesterday, about reviving a multi-million pound fund that supported direct flights into Scotland.

The Route Development Fund, which gave grants to airlines for routes that were otherwise deemed uneconomic, was scrapped two years ago after the European Union ruled it unlawful.

Scottish Enterprise has said that it is exploring the legal ruling by the European Court of First Instance in a bid to see if the fund could be reinstated.

The fund, established in November 2002, had supported 32 direct air routes into Scotland.