Ryanair flight cancellations - O’Leary silence is unsurprising

RYANAIR has a robust culture around customer service. It is a badge of honour for the no-frills carrier that it aggressively discouraged all but the most serious complaints.

That attitude, epitomised by the bristling persona of company boss Michael O’Leary, did not deter the 117m people who used the airline last year. The company suggested that it intended to carry just over 130m passengers this year — or at least it did before it cancelled approximately 50 of the 2,000 or so flights it manages each day over coming weeks, because it says it made a mess of scheduling pilots’ holidays.

Many years ago, when Mary O’Rourke was Minister for Public Enterprise, she said she often relaxed at the end of the day by taking a bath. Sometime later, when she pursued a policy that did not please Ryanair, the airline took out gratuitous ads showing Mrs O’Rourke enjoying her bath, suggesting that she relaxed as Ireland collapsed.