Ryanair boss blasts new ‘ineffective gobbledygook’ travel rules

Ryanair boss blasts new ‘ineffective gobbledygook’ travel rules. O’Leary has branded the new measures “ineffective and inappropriate”.

Michael O’Leary the boss of Ryanair has hit out at the government’s new rules. The government has agreed on new travel measures that will affect anyone wanting to enter Ireland from Friday. Travellers will need to show a negative COVID test even if they have been fully vaccinated. Travellers from Britain will also need to meet the new requirements. The only exceptions are for those aged 11 years old and under.

O’Leary commented: “We condemn this latest NPHET/Govt gobbledygook for what it is, ineffective and inappropriate gobbledygook.

“When EU passengers have, for the last 6 months, been travelling safely with the benefit of the EU DCC or negative PCRs, what medical or health benefit is to be derived by asking these passengers to now produce negative antigen tests, when both Nphet and the CMO have been opposed to antigen tests for 18 months?

“We note that neither the CMO [Dr Tony Holohan] nor the Government have defined what a “professionally done” antigen test means or look like. How are airline or Border Control staff supposed to understand what a professionally done antigen test is, or looks like, when neither the CMO nor the Goverment have even defined it.”

He went on to add: “If this Government had any spine or leadership, it would ignore NPHET’s nonsense advice on travel. There is no medical or health benefit to be gained by requiring vaccinated EU citizens to provide negative antigen or PCR tests prior to their arrival in Ireland.

“At a time when over 90 per cent of Ireland’s adults are fully vaccinated, these confusing new regulations requiring unexplained ‘professionally done’ antigen tests provide no additional medical or health benefit, but are yet another way for Nphet and the Government to restrict air travel on and off an Island on the periphery of Europe.”

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