Ryanair CEO Slams Ukraine Airports, ‘Lunatic’ Spanish Minister

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, slammed a number of events in the course of the firm’s earnings name on Monday.

Through the name, O’Leary first criticized the Spanish authorities for its stance on baggage charges. Spain has fined a number of airways, together with Ryanair, for the baggage charges they cost prospects.

“We now have this lunatic Spanish minister working round attempting to power all airways to take limitless luggage on board freed from cost,” O’Leary stated on his earnings name.

Whereas O’Leary didn’t specify who the “lunatic Spanish minister” was, he was seemingly referring to Spain’s shopper rights minister, Pablo Bustinduy, whom he has criticized on a number of events. In February, for one, O’Leary introduced out a standee of Bustinduy in clown garb, with a pink clown nostril pasted on the minister’s face.

O’Leary’s newest feedback come after Bustinduy’s Ministry of Shopper Affairs fined 5 funds airways a mixed 179 million euros, or about $187 million, in November. The ministry stated on the time that the airways had been conducting “abusive practices” like charging further carry-on baggage charges.

Later within the earnings name, O’Leary slammed airport administrators in Ukraine when requested whether or not Ryanair noticed a chance within the Ukrainian market.

“We might want to return into Ukraine,” O’Leary stated.

Nonetheless, he added he was disillusioned on the response of Ukrainian airports, which he stated have refused to have interaction with Ryanair in a “postwar market.”

He stated Ukraine ought to give airways aggressive reductions to return to working within the nation.

He added: “And there is a few very lazy airport administrators in Ukraine, who must get them off their fats arses and do a take care of us shortly if they need actual radical progress and actual radical financial rebuilding and growth in Ukraine.”

The warfare in Ukraine remains to be ongoing.

Ryanair posted its 2025 full-year earnings on Monday.

It reported yearly income of 13.95 billion, 4% increased than the earlier yr. It additionally reported income of 1.61 billion euros, a 16% decline from the earlier yr.

Representatives for Ryanair, Spain’s Ministry of Shopper Affairs, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure didn’t reply to requests for remark from Enterprise Insider.