Outrage as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary calls for extra security checks on Muslim men
- UK lawmaker says airline boss is ‘encouraging racism’ while Muslim Council of Britain calls comments ‘racist and discriminatory’
- Remarks came soon after stabbing attack at London mosque and right-wing mass shooting in Hanau, Germany, targeting Muslims and people of foreign descent
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary called for profiling of Muslim men at airports because “that is where the threat is coming from”, in an interview with The Times newspaper.
The budget airline boss told the British newspaper that checks for families should be less stringent, while calling for the focus to shift to Muslim men travelling on their own.
“Who are the bombers? They are going to be single males travelling on their own,” the Irishman said in comments published on Saturday.
“If you are travelling with a family of kids, on you go; the chances you are going to blow them all up is fucking zero.
“You can't say stuff, because it's racism, but it will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion. Thirty years ago it was the Irish,” the 58-year-old said. “If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat.”