Ryanair chief: Bring in extra border checks for Muslim men

THE chief executive of Ryanair has said Muslim men should be profiled at airports because ‘that is where the threat is coming from’.

Michael O’Leary, 58, said that if the tactic were used to prevent terrorism, it would generally flag ‘males of a Muslim persuasion’.

The businessman criticised existing airport security and said checks for families should be less stringent as ‘the chances [they] are going to blow them all up is zero’.

The offensive comments, made in a newspaper interview, were condemned by charities and an MP, who accused him of Islamophobia.

Mr O’Leary, who has worked for what is now Europe’s largest airline for more than 30 years, also made controversial statements about disabled and obese people.

Speaking to The Times, he asked: ‘Who are the bombers? They are going to be single males travelling on their own.

‘If you are travelling with a family of kids, on you go; the chances you are going to blow them all up is 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. If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat.’

The Muslim Council of Britain last night condemned his comments as racist.

A spokesman said: ‘He openly advocates discrimination against “males of a Muslim persuasion”, which presumably is not based on specific intelligence but solely whether some

Under fire: Michael O’Leary one “looks or acts like a Muslim”. This is the very definition of Islamophobia.’

Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Perry

Barr, said the remarks were ‘absurd’. He said: ‘If he can tell me what colour Muslims are, then I’d be very happy to learn from him – you can’t judge a book by its cover.

‘Security at airports is not an easy process but these comments do not contribute to the

‘Encouraging racism’

debate and are not the way to deal with it.

‘He is effectively saying, “everyone is game – if they look like a Muslim, then they must be a terrorist”. It doesn’t improve community relations; it gives succour to people of a fascist mindset. In Germany this week a white person killed eight people. Should we profile white people to see if they’re fascists? He’s being very blinkered and is actually encouraging racism.’

A security source told the newspaper that it would be unlawful to use profiling to pick out single male Muslims or Asian travellers.

Mr O’Leary is no stranger to controversy and has previously made offensive remarks about overweight people.

In 2009, Ryanair considered charging an extra fee for overweight passengers, dubbed the fat tax.

Mr O’Leary said: ‘ Nobody wants to sit beside a really fat b****** on board. We have been frankly astonished at the number of customers who don’t only want to tax fat people but torture them.’ Ryanair was approached for comment.