O'Leary doubles down on comparing competitors to rapists

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has been accused of "trivialising" rape after comparing other airlines to rapists.

Mr O'Leary made the remarks ahead of his airline's annual general meeting in Dublin.

He said it is "absolutely" appropriate to compare other airlines to "rapists".

The comments have been heavily criticised by victims' campaigners and politicians.

The billionaire businessman claimed rising air travel prices at other airlines would see passengers switch to Ryanair.

He told reporters at the company's headquarters: "You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair - but you know they'll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA, and others desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe."

He later repeated the "high-fare rapists" comments.

Asked whether this was appropriate language, Mr O'Leary told reporters: "Absolutely."