Daily Mail settles Ryanair libel claim out of court
The Daily Mail has reached an out of court settlement with Ryanair following a libel action brought against its parent company, Associated Newspapers, by the no-frills airline.
Ryanair CEO launched the legal action to defend the airlines reputation for safety after the paper repeated claims of fuel and safety issues that were first made in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.
A statement read out by Associated Newspapers following the deal set the record straight that Ryanair fully complied with EU safety rules.
O’Leary himself commented after this turn of events: “We are very pleased that the Mail has acted promptly to set the record straight in relation to our safety standards - time was of the essence.
"We employ 9,500 aviation professionals and today's settlement vindicates that the quality of work they do in delivering what the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) has confirmed is one of the safest airlines in Europe."
Legal action remains ongoing against Channel 4 following its broadcast of claims alleging that three Ryanair flights were forced to make emergency landings after running out of fuel.
In a statement following the allegations Ryanair said: “We accept that the official report produced by the Irish safety agencies confirmed that all three aircraft took on extra fuel," he said.
"All three aircraft flew for over one hour more than planned due to adverse weather and diversions from Madrid to Valencia. All three aircraft fully complied with EU safety rules when landing safely in Valencia."