Europe's largest low fares carrier Ryanair is "likely" to request for a judicial review of a latest verdict by the aviation regulator on charges at Dublin Airport, the carrier's head of legal affairs revealed last night.

Regulator Cathal Guiomard declined the request of the Dublin Airport Authority for higher charges urgently to fund a capital expenditure plan of €1.8bn.

Mr Guiomard, however, also cast aside the appeals of Ryanair for instantaneously lower charges.

Jim Callaghan, the airline's head of legal affairs, revealed to the Irish Independent that legal action was "likely".

He said, "The difficulty is if we don't challenge this decision, if we wait until the next review [in 2009], then it will be too late, the money will have already been spent".

The carrier has two legal options: Ask the Minister for Transport to set up a review panel for the charges determination, and then with this review panel making non-binding suggestions to the regulator: or else, appeal to the courts for a judicial review to bring down the charges verdict.

Mr Callaghan said, "The panel was a bit of a farce the last time we used it, so we'd be reluctant to go down that road. If we are going to challenge it, it will be a judicial review".

Ryanair' head of legal affairs made it clear that the final decision in this direction would be taken in the coming weeks once the airline had a chance to thoroughly analyse the sixty-two page determination of the regulator.