No sale of Aer Lingus to Ryanair

THE Government will only sell its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to a party that can guarantee its independence from arch-rival Ryanair, the Aer Lingus chief executive told Reuters.

The Government is looking at asset sales to help cut the worst budget deficit in Europe. But Aer Lingus’s Christoph Mueller said Dublin would not sell its Aer Lingus stake, valued at around €150 million, to Ryanair because it would crush competition. Ryanair already owns nearly 30% of Aer Lingus.

“The Irish Government needs to make sure we are not taken over by Ryanair, because only two air carriers guarantee that the fares from London to Dublin remain very low,” Mueller told Reuters on Wednesday.