Helping TAP is like “giving candy to kids, they always want more” says Ryanair CEO
The CEO of Ryanair, Eddie Wilson has slammed the Portuguese government’s decision to step in and bail out TAP as “discriminatory against other airline companies.”
And he has accused the European Commission of discriminating against private companies in allowing the move and has already filed a complaint to the Court of the European Union and says he is confident that the low-cost airline will win.
He says that helping TAP is a “waste of money,” money that can “never be retrieved”.
“Portugal can only lose with this idea of spending so much money on an airline,” said the Ryanair CEO on Thursday in a press conference.
“This money will never be recovered, ever. It’s like giving sweets to a kid, … they’ll always want more,” he added.
Eddie Wilson also said that this loan to TAP is a “bad idea” because “it’s a total waste of money” which could have bee used for hospitals.
“The European Commission has been incorrect. This money will never be returned,” he said.
“We will win this case because there is no reason to hand out money because of the colour of its flag,” he said.
Ryanair has announced that it will run 121 routes in the summer and open two new ones to Portugal; Lisbon-Cologne (twice weekly) and Faro-Belfast (Daily).