Michael O’Leary has said he hopes that Poland’s new pro-European government will support its growth plans in the country and compared its predecessor with the communists.
The previous government was not supportive of Ryanair’s expansion, leading to political interference.
The airline plans to double in size in Poland over the next six to eight years and aims to raise passenger numbers by 10pc to 18m this year.
Ryanair is critical of the former government’s plan to build a new airport in central Poland, calling it “stupid” and comparing it to communist-era policies: “I think the previous government were interested in holding down that growth. They didn’t want Ryanair to expand, so we ran into a lot of political interference. We hope the new government will be more outward looking…the more Poland looks toward the EU…the better that will be for Poland, the Polish economy and for Ryanair’s growth in Poland,”
“The central airport plan was the dumbest plan ever invented by a pretty dumb government. It has never made any sense, we have always been opposed to it, it is stupid. This is what the communists used to do: We’ll build an airport in Siberia and everybody will use it because we say you all have to use it. It doesn’t work that way.”
