The British competition authority says Ryanair is still required to reduce its stake in Aer Lingus to no more than 5%.

In a perfect world Ryanair and the Government would both sell their stake in Aer Lingus at the same time so that a majority purchaser could be found, according to Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller.

Ryanair’s 30% stake in Aer Lingus damages competition on routes between Britain and Ireland and must be cut to 5%, a UK regulator has ordered.

Ryanair may be ordered to sell some, if not all, of its shares in Aer Lingus following a probe by the competition commission in Britain into its near 30% stake in the Irish flag bearer.

Ryanair has criticised the UK Competition Commission's (CC's) provisional decision that Ryanair "has influence" over Aer Lingus and that this "could reduce competition".