Strong words from O’Leary as Ryanair opens London Stanstead training center

On a day when Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, opened the brand new training center for the airline at London Stanstead, the airline’s largest hub, he did not hold back on comments relating to Brexit, Britain’s referendum regarding potential withdrawal from the European Union.
The new training center, which includes four full-flight simulators, a full-scale engineering training aircraft and an aircraft interior for cabin crew, is part of Ryanair’s drive to recruit 1,000 additional pilots, engineers and cabin crew. At the opening O’Leary stated that “These new facilities will allow Ryanair to recruit and train over 1,000 pilots, cabin crew and engineers in 2016, and many of these jobs will be based across Ryanair’s 13 UK based airports, where we are adding 14 new aircraft, and growing our UK traffic from 36 million passengers to 41 million passengers in 2016.”
The facility will provide 450 additional jobs and will form part of the US$1.4 billion Ryanair invests into the UK economy. However, at an event which was also attended by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, O’Leary made it clear that jobs were at risk, as well as continued investment if Britain chose to leave the 28-member EU. “Let me put it simply, if Britain isn’t a member of the EU these investments, these jobs will be going to other countries. That’s why Ryanair is campaigning so strongly for Britain to remain in the EU,” continuing, “If Britain leaves the single market Britain may be forced out of the Open Skies regime and airfares and the cost of holidays will rise. That’s not speculation, that’s a certainty.”
He alsochose to use the opening of the training center as a platform to make it even clearer he was very much against the UK leaving the European Union: “It is exactly this type of investment that will be lost to other competitor EU members if the UK votes to leave the European Union,” he said. “I am absolutely certain that the UK economy is better off in Europe, and that is why Ryanair is campaigning hard and actively calling on UK voters to vote ‘Remain’ on June 23.”