Ryanair has agreed an out-of-court settlement with the publisher of the Daily Mail after the newspaper repeated claims made in a Channel 4 programme last month.
The airline reached an out of court settlement with Associated Newspapers today (September 12) with an agreed statement read out at the High Court in Belfast.
Ryanair took legal action against the publisher after the Daily Mail ran articles based on Channel 4's Dispatches programme which made claims about the airline’s safety record. Ryanair is continuing to sue Channel 4 for defamation.
The statement read out by the publisher acknowledged that three Ryanair aircraft which made emergency landings at Valencia had “complied with EU safety rules”.
“We accept that the official report produced by the Irish safety agencies confirmed that all three aircraft took on extra fuel, all three aircraft flew for over one hour more than planned (due to adverse weather and diversions from Madrid to Valencia). All three aircraft fully complied with EU safety rules when landing safely in Valencia.,” said Associated Newspapers in the statement to the court.
Ryanair’s chief pilot Ray Conway said: “I am very satisfied with the comprehensive vindication and acknowledgement of Ryanair’s 29-year safety record by the DailyMail.
“While I am unable to make specific comments concerning our ongoing legal proceedings regarding Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, I wish to emphasise that Ryanair cannot and will not tolerate what were totally unjustified and inappropriate allegations in relation to our industry-leading safety.
“Safety has been, and will always be, the absolute priority for Ryanair, as demonstrated by our 29-year industry leading record, and by the Irish Aviation Authority’s recent confirmation that Ryanair’s safety “is on a par with the safest airlines in Europe”.”