Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has clashed with RTE1 radio broadcaster Claire Byrne on air, calling Transport Minister Eamon Ryan “an idiot”.
O’Leary criticised the government for not increasing the passenger cap at Dublin Airport and called it a joke that a new runway was being opened without allowing passenger numbers to grow.
O’Leary accused the Green Party and “the idiots on the left” of effectively taxing passengers and accused Mr Ryan of blocking the expansion of traffic at Dublin Airport.
Ms Byrne asked about alternative proposals to boost capacity at Shannon and Cork airports, which O’Leary dismissed as stupidity from a Green minister: “This is not an environmental issue. It’s just more incompetence from an incompetent Minister for Transport.”
The discussion became heated, with interruptions and personal insults exchanged between Mr O’Leary and Ms Byrne.
Mr O’Leary defended Ryanair’s purchase of properties near Dublin Airport for staff accommodation and stated that their first priority is to look after passengers and staff.
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