Airlines including Aer Lingus are using the US terror attacks as an excuse to ask for state aid, Ryanair claimed today.
Ryanair was "not very battered at all" by the aftermath of the attacks, company chairman Mr Michael O'Leary said this morning.
"We continue to take the same number of bookings per week as we did before the tragic events in the US last week," he told BBC Radio 4's Todayprogramme. "People are still flying and we see no reason why that will change".
Aer Lingus announced this week it would scale back its operations by up to 25 per cent, with the loss of as many as 1,700 jobs, over the effects of the attacks.
But Mr O'Leary said it was merely using the attacks as an excuse and that poor performance was at the root of the job losses.
"I think the industry is more reflecting what would have happened anyway," he said.
Other world airlines including British Airways have cut thousands of jobs, predicting a downturn in passenger numbers in the wake of the tragedy.
"I think there were going to be large job losses among airlines that were losing money before last week. Last week's event's may have brought them forward but our response . . . has been to lower our fares," Mr O'Leary said.