The boss of Ryanair has warned that flights will not resume if the government insists on keeping middle seats empty. Michael O’Leary said "idiotic" social distancing rules will keep the company out of action until well after the coronavirus crisis - and is now calling on the Irish government to foot the bill to keep it in business.
The airline's flight schedule could be running at 80% capacity by September, O’Leary said. However, he added that Ryanair will not resume flying "at all" if middle seats are required to be kept empty.
He branded the potential measure as "entirely ineffective" and said the company had told the Irish government that "either the government pays for the middle seat or we won’t fly".