Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary Issues Public Apology After Comparing Rival Carriers to ‘Rapists’

At a press conference in Dublin last week, Ryanair’s longtime chief Michael O’Leary made a remark that sent shockwaves through the aviation world. In a fiery tirade about rising ticket prices, he likened rival European carriers to “rapists,” a comment that was instantly condemned as crass and insensitive.

“You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair – but you know they’ll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA and others desperate to get to Ryanair’s low fares because they can’t afford to fly with the high‑fare rapists around Europe,” O’Leary said, his voice rising as reporters scribbled furiously.

When journalists pressed him on whether the analogy trivialised sexual assault, O’Leary doubled down, repeating the phrase and insisting he was merely describing “high‑fare airlines.” The backlash was swift, with victims’ groups, industry observers and social‑media users calling the comparison outrageous.

Ten days later, the irascible executive appeared in a video posted by Virgin Media News, looking markedly more subdued. He told the camera, “I was quizzed by the press if I was trivialising rape. I replied by asserting my firm belief that rape is a heinous and terrible crime which cannot be trivialised. I believe I couldn’t have been clearer in this regard.”

He went on to acknowledge that his choice of words had caused “considerable upset and offense to a wide number of people, especially victims and survivors.” In a measured tone he added, “I want to apologise, sincerely and unreservedly, to those people, especially to the survivors. I am truly sorry for the offence and upset I’ve caused you … It won’t happen again. I will try to learn from this mistake and do better in the future.”

O’Leary, who has steered Ryanair since 1994 and built it into Europe’s largest low‑cost carrier, is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year he sparred publicly with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk over a proposed partnership involving Starlink satellite internet. O’Leary rejected the idea, arguing that the added equipment would increase aircraft weight and fuel consumption.

Musk fired back on his platform X, calling O’Leary “misinformed,” to which the Ryanair boss retorted on Irish radio that he would “pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot.” The exchange escalated, with Musk branding O’Leary an “utter idiot” and “imbecile,” prompting Ryanair to launch a tongue‑in‑cheek “Great idiot seat sale,” urging customers to “Buy now before Musk gets one!!!”

Amid the media circus, another story emerged involving a passenger who claimed he was partially sucked out of a broken window during a July 10 flight from Greece to Germany. Serbian national Ljubisa Karović said his wife and fellow travellers clutched him as the aircraft’s window shattered, and that he suffered neck and shoulder injuries. In a later interview, O’Leary acknowledged the incident, stating, “He was certainly sucked towards the window, but he didn’t get out the window. He was belted into his seat.” He added that the airline would provide “some compensation,” while denying the “millions” demanded by the passenger’s legal team.

All of these episodes have painted a picture of a CEO who’s both brutally honest and, at times, unfiltered. The recent apology appears to be a rare moment of introspection for O’Leary, who said family and friends helped him see how his language could inflict real harm.

Whether the apology will soothe offended parties or simply fade into the next headline remains to be seen. What is clear is that Ryanair’s chief will continue to dominate news cycles—whether through daring remarks, tech debates, or the occasional safety controversy.