Environmental activists attacked the boss of Irish budget airline Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, with cakes in Brussels on Thursday. “Welcome to Belgium,” shouted an activist as she pushed her cake into the boss’s face, as seen in images from Belgian broadcasters LN24 and RTL Info. “Stop the pollution,” shouted the other activist as she pummeled the 62-year-old entrepreneur with the cake.
During the cake attack, O’Leary stood in front of the EU Commission building in Brussels next to a cardboard cutout depicting Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen. He was about to demonstrate in a one-man protest of his own against numerous air traffic controller strikes in the EU that are affecting the business of Ryanair.
He responded to the cake attack with a laugh, wiped the cream from his face and then asked an employee to clean his suit. He later published a photo of himself in the smeared state on the online service
O’Leary’s company is regularly criticized by unions for its human resources practices and the working conditions of its pilots. The pilots of the Irish low-cost airline working in Belgium have announced another strike for September 14th and 15th. They demand better salaries and longer rest periods between flights. It is their fourth strike in two months.
