Ryanair discontinues legal actions against Belfast Telegraph

RYANAIR WELCOMES BELFAST TELEGRAPH APOLOGY

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC), today (19 Aug) welcomed an apology issued by the Belfast Telegraph arising from its publication of an article two weeks ago on its website (6 Aug) which made a number of false claims about Ryanair’s fuel policy and safety.

Ryanair initiated legal proceedings against the Belfast Telegraph last Friday (16 Aug), as well as Channel 4 Dispatches, The Daily Mail Online and the Daily Mirror. Within hours of the proceedings being issued, the Belfast Telegraph issued an apology and accepted that Ryanair’s pilots are free to carry as much fuel as they wish to, that Ryanair fully complies with EU fuel regulation, and also the IAA’s confirmation that Ryanair’s safety is “on a par with the safest airlines in Europe”.

In light of this apology, Ryanair will discontinue its legal action against the Belfast Telegraph, but will continue to pursue its defamation cases against Channel 4 Dispatches, The Daily Mail Online and the Daily Mirror.

Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said:

“We welcome the Belfast Telegraph’s apology and its acceptance that Ryanair’s pilots are free to carry as much fuel as they wish, that Ryanair fully complies with EU fuel regulation, and the IAA’s confirmation that Ryanair’s safety is “on a par with the safest airlines in Europe”. In the light of this apology we have instructed our lawyers to drop our legal action against the newspaper. 

Ryanair will not allow any newspaper (or group of non-Ryanair pilots) to defame our industry leading 29-year safety, or to impugn the 9,000 aviation professionals whose commitment to safety here in Ryanair on every flight, every day, is absolute.”