While low-cost carriers have allowed many to see places that they would have otherwise not had a chance to see by flying them there cheaply, increased scrutiny is being drawn to their environmental impact.
A recent report shows that budget airlines nearly quadrupled their carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2020, while last July Greenpeace called them out for "exploit[ing] every loophole and trick in the book" to offer travelers the "€10 airline ticket" that demotivates from choosing trains and other more sustainable travel options.
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The environmental side of the low-cost carrier recently came front and center during Ryanair (RYAOF) -) CEO Michael O'Leary's visit to the European Commission Headquarters in Brussels.
Ryanair chief executive hit with cream pies, laughs off incident
As the head of the biggest low-cost airline in the world and the third-biggest of all airlines in terms of passengers carried, O'Leary had come to Belgium to hold a press conference and hand over to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a petition calling on officials to take action on the French air traffic control strikes impacting flights.
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As he was preparing to pull the petition signed by 1.5 million travelers out of a box, two women ran up and hit him with two cream pies in the face and back of the head while screaming "Welcome to Belgium!"
"Stop the pollution of the f---ing planes!" the women were also heard shouting before running away.
O'Leary emerged from the incident in good spirits, laughing and saying "well done" as he took off his jacket and wiped the cream from his face. He is also heard saying "I love cream cakes, they're my favorite!" to reporters before continuing the press conference.
Warm welcome in Brussels today to celebrate RYR’s 7 new routes for Winter 23. Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that they’re celebrating with cake. We’ve got tasty low fares! pic.twitter.com/MpT6ssSX6a
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 7, 2023
Ryanair uses viral incident to get laughs (and market new flights)
Ryanair's social media team also jumped on O'Leary's good humor and posted a video of what it called a "warm welcome in Brussels" on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. It also did not miss a chance to advertise the seven new routes it launched for the coming winter season by saying that it's "got tasty low fares."
It is unclear whether the protesters were later apprehended or charged over the incident or managed to run away without getting caught.
Leading Ryanair since 1994, O'Leary has been embroiled in several controversial incidents over the years. In 2003, he came under fire for registering a Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF) -) under the name O'Leary Cabs in order to use lanes designated for taxis to drive around Dublin, while in 2007 he had to retract a statement about how Ryanair had cut its carbon dioxide emissions "in half over the last five years" to say that what he really meant was "per passenger."
According to Belgium's Transport & Environment data first reported by Reuters, Ryanair is currently the most-polluting airline in Europe. By increasing the number of passengers it flies by more than 20% since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the budget carrier emitted 13.3 million tons of CO2 in 2022.
