Ryanair boss rips into ‘idiot’ anti-vaxxers

Ryanair boss rips into ‘idiot’ anti-vaxxers

Michael O'Leary says only vaccinated passengers should be allowed to fly but rejects compulsory jab orders

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in London in October 2019. (Reuters File Photo)
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in London in October 2019. (Reuters File Photo)

LONDON: The outspoken boss of Europe’s biggest budget carrier thinks that only vaccinated passengers should be allowed to fly, adding that anyone who rejects vaccination is an "idiot".

However, Ryanair Holdings CEO Michael O'Leary has also pushed back against compulsory coronavirus vaccine programmes being rolled out in Austria and Germany. Instead, governments should “make life difficult” for people who refuse to take the vaccine without good reason, he said in an interview with the London newspaper The Telegraph

“If you’re not vaccinated, you shouldn’t be allowed in the hospital, you shouldn’t be allowed to fly, you shouldn’t be allowed on the London Underground, and you shouldn’t be allowed in the local supermarket or your pharmacy either,” he told the newspaper. 

“We recognise the rights of everybody to decide not to get vaccinated if you so want. If you personally object to vaccination, because it's some huge government/big pharma conspiracy; apart from the fact that you would be plainly an idiot, we respect your right to be an idiot.”

The Omicron variant has once again dashed the travel sector’s hopes for recovery, as a fresh wave of restrictions leads passengers to cancel or hold off on booking trips. O’Leary said Ryanair expected to fly 10% fewer passengers in December as a result, according to the newspaper. 

He said he also expects the first few months of the year to be weak if there is continued uncertainty over restrictions, or if new measures are imposed. 

The outspoken CEO already hit the headlines earlier this week, as Ryanair used its Twitter account to mock British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Christmas parties in Downing Street. The image listed mock government responses to coronavirus alert levels, ranging from “Small gathering with wine and cheese” to “Full on rave”.

O’Leary was unrepentant, according to The Telegraph, saying: “You get promoted around here for upsetting Johnson and his half-witted idiots.”

He also criticised the UK government for panicking over the Omicron variant when other European countries don’t seem to have the same concerns, and said this would likely prevent people from travelling over Christmas due to the uncertainty.

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