There have been calls for a boycott of Ryanair following comments made by the company’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary.
The Irish businessman stepped in after the government revealed it was struggling to find an airline to operate flights to Kigali, with a number of businesses unwilling to risk the reputational damage it may entail.
Even Rwanda’s state-owned airline has refused to be part of it, despite the government saying it was proud to be part of the scheme.
Speaking in London, Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary weighed in on the issue, saying he would “happily” do the flights if he had the available aircraft.
“If it was the winter schedule and we had spare aircraft sitting around and if the government were looking for additional deportation flights or any other flights, we would happily quote for the business,” O’Leary said.
He also shrugged off warnings from the United Nations, which has said that airlines facilitating the removals could be complicit in violating international law.
The comments have sparked backlash on social media, with a number of people calling for a full boycott of the airline:
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