Ryanair boss gets pied in the face in Brussels.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary got a rude welcome in Brussels today when he received two cream pies to the face while standing next to a cardboard cutout of EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
The pies were landed by two women environmental activists as Michael O’Leary was holding a one-man protest outside the European Commission against repeated air traffic controllers’ strikes in the EU impacting his low-cost airline, Europe’s biggest by passenger numbers.
“Welcome in Belgium,” said one of the activists as she planted her pie, according to video of the scene broadcast by Belgian news channels LN24 and RTL Info.
“Stop the pollution” from planes said the other activist as she smeared her pastry on Mr O’Leary before both walked off.
The Ryanair chief, who regularly courts publicity, laughed off the stunt, calmly telling an assistant to take his soiled jacket away to be cleaned.
Ryanair’s feed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, later posted that O’Leary got a “warm welcome in Brussels”.
