Varadkar: No Etihad negotiations

There has been no contact between the Government and Etihad over the Middle East airline taking a stake in Aer Lingus, according to Leo Varadkar, the minister for transport, tourism and sport.

“We haven’t had any negotiations with Etihad on the disposal of the Government stake; I have met with the CEO of Etihad but on a number of issues, not specifically that, and that was some months ago,” he said.

Earlier this month the chief executive of Etihad, James Hogan, said he would be “very happy to have that conversation with Ryanair about its near-30% stake in Aer Lingus”.