Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary has refused to apologise after calling rival airlines "high-fare rapists," dismissing calls from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and a rape survivor to issue a "swift apology" and rejecting an offer of training on sexual violence.
O'Leary's remarks at AGM
O'Leary made the comments before the airline's annual general meeting in Dublin on Thursday, claiming travellers priced out by soaring fares at rival carriers would instead flock to his low-cost airline.
Speaking to reporters at the company's headquarters, he said: "You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair – but you know they'll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA, and others desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe."
He subsequently repeated the "high-fare rapists" comments. When challenged over whether such language was appropriate, O'Leary told reporters: "Absolutely."
Condemnation and response
O'Leary's remarks drew widespread condemnation from survivors and advocacy groups. Rape survivor Fiona Doyle called on the Ryanair boss to "have the guts" to sit down with her and apologise, reports the Irish Mirror.
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Rachel Morrogh wrote to O'Leary urging him to issue a "swift apology" to survivors of rape and sexual violence, while also inviting him to attend "training on sexual violence". Morrogh further suggested the Ryanair boss "dodged a question about whether it was offensive to victims of rape and whether it trivialised rape".
In response, O'Leary published an "open letter" on Friday directed at Morrogh, asserting he did not "trivialize the crime of rape", while confirming he would neither apologise nor accept any training offer.
Open letter and refusal
He stated: "I refer to your letter sent by email late on Thurs 10 Sept. Your letter wrongly claims that I 'dodged a question about whether it was offensive to victims of rape and whether it trivialized rape?'. I did not.
"I was asked what I thought of rape, and answered that it was a heinous crime. I could not have been clearer. I certainly did not trivialize the crime of rape as you wrongly claim.
"I was also asked if describing high fare competitor airlines as high fare rapists somehow trivialized the crime of rape, and I was clear in my view that it did not. I am quite clear that no remarks of mine could possibly trivialize the heinous crime of rape.
"You are entirely free to hold a different opinion and we are free to disagree. But since I clearly did not 'trivialize' the heinous crime of rape, I will certainly not be issuing any apology or accepting your offer of training.
"Finally, your claim that my remarks yesterday 'perpetuate dismissive attitudes to survivors of rape' is both false and defamatory when I clearly asserted in the same QandA with the media that rape is a 'heinous crime' and accordingly its survivors are victims of a heinous crime."
