The quaint notion of air travel as a romantic and relaxing prelude to a summer holiday disappeared around 50 years ago with the advent of mass transit and package holidays.

Ryanair would seek a majority stake in Alitalia if it decides to invest in the loss-making Italian airline, chief executive Michael O’Leary said during a visit to Rome yesterday.

Ryanair has today (25 Nov) launched its biggest ever ‘Black Friday’ promotion with up to 20% off 10 million seats on sale on the Ryanair.com website – for one day only.

A Ryanair flight from London has been forced to divert because of a rowdy British stag party on board.