Business · 11 September 2026
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary defends calling rival airlines "high-fare rapists"
Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary refused to apologise for describing rival airlines as "high-fare rapists", despite criticism from a rape crisis centre. He made the comments on Thursday before a yearly meeting with shareholders, saying he would "happily offend" other airlines. Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris said it was "clearly an inappropriate use of language" that O'Leary should have corrected.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs