The chief executive of Ryanair Michael O’Leary has “unreservedly” apologised for the “considerable upset and offence” caused after he compared rival airliners to rapists at a press briefing last week.
His apology on Friday evening came after more than a week of sustained pressure from advocacy groups and fierce criticism from politicians, including the Taoiseach Micheál Martin over the comparison.
It was welcomed by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre which expressed the hope that it would “promote a greater public understanding of the impact language can have”.
O’Leary’s statement was issued despite the fact that he had previously stood over his comments and suggested he had no reason to apologise.
It marks one of the very rare occasions over his decades long period at the helm of the the largest and most profitable airline in Europe that he has reversed a previously held position and admitted that, in no uncertain terms, he made a mistake.
In the message O’Leary said that over recent days he had had a series of conversations with family and friends inside and outside of the airline and had realised that what he had said had caused “considerable upset and offence”.
He apologised “sincerely and unreservedly” to people, especially survivors of sexual violence and rape.
“Last week at a press conference in Dublin, I used the term rapists to describe the high fares of our competitor airlines. I was quizzed by the press if I was trivialising rape,” he told Virgin Media News.
“I replied by asserting my firm belief that rape is a heinous and terrible crime which cannot be trivialised. I believe I couldn’t have been clearer in this regard.
“In conversations with family and friends, both inside and outside Ryanair, over the last 10 days, I have come to realise, however, that the word I used so carelessly has caused considerable upset and offence to a wide number of people, especially victims and survivors.
O’Leary said that he wanted ”to apologise, sincerely and unreservedly, to those people, especially to the survivors. I am truly sorry for the offence and upset I have caused you by my careless use of those words. It won’t happen again."
He added that he would “try to learn from this mistake and do better in the future.”
O’Leary had previously rejected calls for an apology from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre chief executive Rachel Morrogh, who accused him of trivialising rape ahead of his airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin last Thursday.
At that press briefing he had claimed rising air travel prices at other airlines would mean passengers switch to Ryanair.
“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.”
When he was subsequently asked if such language was appropriate he replied: “Absolutely.” He stressed that rape was a “terrible crime” but rejected any assertion that he had trivialised it.
Morrogh said the “Dublin Rape Crisis Centre welcomed his apology and his ”recognition that his comments caused concern and hurt to people who have been raped as well as to their families and friends.
She expressed the “hope [that his] apology helps promote a greater public understanding of the impact language can have and the harm that trivialising sexual violence can do.”
She stressed that “words matter and positive leadership really matters as well, so we view Mr O’Leary’s apology as being very important. We remain committed to and focused on ensuring that the experiences of victims and survivors are treated with the seriousness, dignity and respect they deserve.” -Additional reporting PA
