“Definitely not that tasty”
Climate activists smear cake on Ryanair boss O’Leary’s face
September 8, 2023, 9:57 a.m
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Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary gets a cake pressed in his face by two environmental activists in Brussels. The airline and its boss take it with humor. “Too bad it was soy-based cream – definitely not as tasty as the real stuff,” said X.
Unpleasant surprise: The boss of Europe’s largest low-cost airline Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, was the target of a cake toss by climate activists in Brussels in front of the EU Commission headquarters. “Stop pollution,” shouted a black-clad protester after she smeared a cake on the airline boss’s face on Thursday. A second activist slapped a cake onto the Irishman’s head from behind.
The demonstrators, who did not identify as belonging to any group, are protesting against CO2 emissions from aviation. At a press round afterwards, O’Leary said: “My only complaint was that the cream was artificial.” The airline shared photos of the action on news service X. “It’s a shame it was soy-based cream – definitely not as tasty as the real stuff,” the airline wrote, posting a grimacing smiley.
According to data from the Brussels-based environmental organization Transport & Environment, Ryanair, as the European market leader, emitted the most greenhouse gas in Europe last year with 13.3 million tons of CO2. Ryanair declared itself the most efficient airline in the world due to the high number of passengers transported per aircraft. By 2030, the Irish want to operate 12.5 percent of flights with sustainable, largely emission-free fuel (SAF).
O’Leary was posing for photographers in front of the EU Commission with a cardboard cutout of President Ursula von der Leyen. The airline boss wanted to present a petition with 1.5 million signatures demanding that overflights over France be exempt from strikes by French air traffic controllers. Ryanair and other airlines were affected by the massive strikes by pilots in the dispute over the retirement age in France and had to fly detours – which also increased CO2 emissions.