Ryanair boss labels Irish ministers ‘dunces’ over Dublin Airport passenger cap

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has launched a fresh broadside against Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan as he blamed a passenger cap at Dublin Airport for blocking the airline’s growth. O’Leary said Ryan and his Green Party colleague Catherine Martin, the Minister for Tourism, are “dunces” who should leave politics if they do not act to remove the cap. Ryanair said while it expects to grow traffic at Ireland’s regional airports in Cork, Shannon and Knock, it cannot expand in Dublin due to a limit of 32m passengers per year. The company said the cap limits its plan to grow its Irish traffic by 50% by 2030. The airline’s CE told a press conference on Thursday that Ryan had failed to deliver on the National Aviation Policy of enhancing Ireland’s connectivity, fostering growth in aviation, and maximising the contribution of aviation to national development. O’Leary, one of Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen, posed for photos holding cut-outs of the two ministers wearing green dunce caps. Ryan has previously said the airline chief has become “personally abusive” in his comments. Asked on Thursday if he feels the latest media stunt is abusive, Mr O’Leary said it is intended to be “humorous”. He said: “I can’t imagine when I’ve ever been personally abusive. I’ve said he’s incompetent. I don’t think that’s personally abusive, it’s a statement of fact. I think calling him a dunce is fair, but if he’s that thin-skinned or that upset by personal abuse, I have two suggestions: One, do something useful and lift the cap. Or two, maybe politics isn’t for you, if you can’t handle the occasional barb from some loudmouth like me.”<br/>