06.04.06

RYANAIR STATEMENT RE: SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER

Ryanair, Europe’s leading low fares airline today responded to the decision by the Swedish Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister to sue the low cost airline for using their faces in a newspaper advertisement.

Reacting to this news, Ryanair’s Scandinavian Sales Manger, Lotta Lindquist said:

“This must be the first time that any politician has objected to their image being published in a newspaper. This Court case is a complete waste of Swedish tax payers money and is another example of this Government attempting to stifle competition in the airline market. This Government is already proposing to introduce a SEK94 “environmental” tax which seeks to massively increase the cost of air travel into and out of Sweden.

“The Prime Minister is seeking to deny Swedish citizens access to low cost travel, a commodity which they have embraced enthusiastically, as evidenced by the rapid growth of Ryanair’s low fare services in the last 5 years. Ryanair will continue to fight on behalf of Swedish consumers by vigorously defending the Court proceedings initiated by the Prime Minister and the former Foreign Minister. We will defend the right of free speech and also the right of consumers to have low fare air travel”.

Ryanair is seeking assistance from all of its loyal customers in Sweden on this issue and to that end is offering 50 free flights* to the first passengers who send us messages of support on this issue to swedishsupport@ryanair.com

*Specific routes ex Sweden, terms and conditions apply