Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, slammed several parties during the company’s earnings call on Monday.
During the call, O’Leary first criticized the Spanish government for its stance on baggage fees. Spain has fined several airlines, including Ryanair, for the luggage fees they charge customers.
“We have this lunatic Spanish minister running around trying to force all airlines to take unlimited bags on board free of charge,” O’Leary said on his earnings call.
While O’Leary did not specify who the “lunatic Spanish minister” was, he was likely referring to Spain’s consumer rights minister, Pablo Bustinduy, whom he has criticized on multiple occasions. In February, for one, O’Leary brought out a standee of Bustinduy in clown garb, with a red clown nose pasted on the minister’s face.
O’Leary’s latest comments come after Bustinduy’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs fined five budget airlines a combined 179 million euros, or about $187 million, in November. The ministry said at the time that the airlines were conducting “abusive practices” like charging extra carry-on luggage fees.
Later in the earnings call, O’Leary slammed airport directors in Ukraine when asked whether Ryanair saw an opportunity in the Ukrainian market.
“We would wish to go back into Ukraine,” O’Leary said.
However, he added he was disappointed at the response of Ukrainian airports, which he said have refused to engage with Ryanair in a “postwar marketplace.”
He said Ukraine should give airlines aggressive discounts to return to operating in the country.
He added: “And there’s a couple of very lazy airport directors in Ukraine, who need to get them off their fat arses and do a deal with us quickly if they want real radical growth and real radical economic rebuilding and development in Ukraine.”
The war in Ukraine is still ongoing.
Ryanair posted its 2025 full-year earnings on Monday.
It reported yearly revenue of 13.95 billion, 4% higher than the previous year. It also reported profits of 1.61 billion euros, a 16% decline from the previous year.
Representatives for Ryanair, Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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