Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK airport chaos due to Brexit 'shambles': Ryanair boss

On the controversial Afrikaans test, the Ryanair boss said the company had tried to respond to a rise in detection of false South African passports

UK airport chaos due to Brexit 'shambles': Ryanair boss

AIR travel chaos in Britain is purely down to Brexit "shambles" by hobbling recruitment at airports, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday (14).

The CEO of Europe's biggest airline also dismissed threats of summer strike action by what he called "Mickey Mouse" unions in Belgium and Spain covering some Ryanair workers.


And he said his company has dropped a controversial pre-boarding questionnaire for South African passport holders requiring them to answer questions in Afrikaans -- a language commonly used by just 12 per cent of South Africans, many of them white.

O'Leary said that "100 per cent" of the woes experienced by air passengers in the UK -- including massively long lines and cancelled flights -- was because "Brexit has been a shambles".

"It was delivered by a government led by Boris Johnson that is also a shambles. It was inevitable that Brexit would constrain the labour market, you see," he said.

O'Leary said Britain's decision to pursue a hardline departure from the European Union that put a halt to EU workers filling jobs is largely why it was difficult to quickly ramp up recruitment for ground and security staff at UK passports.

Airports and airlines in several countries, including in the EU and the US, have struggled to cope with surging numbers of travellers, many of them keen to fly after months or years of being grounded because of Covid restrictions.

O'Leary said that unlike European rivals Air France and Lufthansa, low-cost Ryanair had fully bounced back from the pandemic and was flying 115 per cent of the passenger loads recorded before the coronavirus hit.

Rising inflation was only pushing more passengers into Ryanair seats, he argued, while acknowledging that the airline was raising ticket prices by around 9 per cent.

He said the company's hedging on fuel prices through to March next year was keeping it competitive.

Strike threats

But unions in Belgium and Spain are threatening to clip Ryanair's peak summer revenues with strikes later this month to demand better pay and conditions.

O'Leary shrugged off the walk-out warnings.

"We think there will be very few strikes, if any, and those strikes will be meaningless and won't be noticed by anybody," he said.

"We operate two and half thousand flights every day. Most of those flights will continue to operate even if there is a strike in Spain by some Mickey Mouse union or if the Belgian cabin crew unions want to go on strike over here," he added in a media conference.

O'Leary said that, in Belgium, the airline had "reached an agreement with the unions representing over 90 per cent of our pilots and cabin crew" and was continuing negotiations.

On the controversial Afrikaans test, the Ryanair boss said the company had tried to respond to a rise in detection of false South African passports.

"We suffer a fine of £1,734 for every passenger who arrives in Dublin from Bodrum (in Turkey) with a false South African passport," he said.

He added that, while the airline had been asking South African passport holders to answer local general knowledge and geographical questions in Afrikaans, it got rid of the questionnaire.

"We didn't think it was appropriate either. So we have ended the Afrikaans test, because it doesn't make any sense," he said, adding that "South Africa needs to fix its problems".

South Africa's government had called the test "backward profiling".

Afrikaans is just one of 11 official languages in South Africa, and it played a role in the oppression of black citizens during apartheid.

(AFP)

More For You

Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones marry in multicultural wedding

Louise Jones and Jeevun Sandher (Photo: Facebook)

Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones marry in multicultural wedding

TWO of Labour’s newest MPs, Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones, have announced their marriage after a week-long celebration that combined Sikh and Christian traditions.

Sandher, elected last year as MP for Loughborough, and Jones, MP for North East Derbyshire, tied the knot earlier this month in ceremonies that reflected their different cultural backgrounds. The couple shared photographs on social media, calling the occasion a celebration of “two heritages” as they began their life together.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK sees sharp increase in sex crime convictions of Indian nationals

Figures show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024 (Photo:iStock)

UK sees sharp increase in sex crime convictions of Indian nationals

INDIAN nationals have recorded the sharpest increase in convictions for sexual offences among foreign nationals in the UK, according to an analysis of official government data.

Figures from the UK Ministry of Justice, based on the Police National Computer and assessed by the Centre for Migration Control (CMC), show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024. The number of cases rose from 28 in 2021 to 100 last year — an increase of 72 cases.

Keep ReadingShow less
pashupatinath temple nepal

A general view of the Pashupatinath temple complex in Kathmandu on August 27, 2025.

Getty Images

Nepal court allows unclothed Hindu ascetics to enter Pashupatinath temple

NEPAL’s Supreme Court has ruled that Hindu holy men who follow the tradition of remaining unclothed cannot be barred from entering the Pashupatinath temple. The court said that nudity, when practised as a religious custom, is not the same as obscenity.

The ruling concerns the Naga sadhus, ascetics devoted to Lord Shiva who renounce family ties and worldly possessions, including clothing. Covered in ash and wearing dreadlocks, they are a familiar sight at the temple during major festivals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi begins Asia tour to boost ‘Make in India’ and counter US pressure

Narendra Modi addresses the audience during the launch of Maruti Suzuki's new assembly line for the Suzuki e-Vitara, Maruti's first electric car, at the Hansalpur plant, some 80 km from Ahmedabad, in India's Gujarat state on August 26, 2025. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Modi begins Asia tour to boost ‘Make in India’ and counter US pressure

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi heads overseas on Thursday (28) to meet the leaders of China, Japan and Russia, seeking to build closer diplomatic ties as New Delhi battles fallout from US president Donald Trump's escalating tariff offensive.

By drawing nearer to some of the world’s largest economies, including his first visit to China in seven years, Modi hopes to to boost support for his flagship "Make in India" initiative, mainly from Japan, as Trump's measures spur new partnerships.

Keep ReadingShow less
house rent

Currently, rental income is exempt from national insurance, which is charged at 8 per cent on employee earnings.

iStock

UK landlords could face new tax in autumn budget

THE TREASURY is considering extending national insurance to rental income in the autumn budget, a move that could raise about £2bn.

Currently, rental income is exempt from national insurance, which is charged at 8 per cent on employee earnings.

Keep ReadingShow less