Ryanair Holdings plc (LON:RYA) boss Michael O’Leary dismissed a call for airlines to leave middle seats idle as “idiotic” and said governments would have to pay the fares, or it won’t fly.
Criticising the envisaged restriction - which airlines such as Emirates, easyJet and Delta have themselves plan to adopt - O’Leary said that it would not ensure social distancing and were financially unviable.
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The Ryanair boss, in a Financial Times interview, said: “We can’t make money on 66% load factors.” he said.
“Even if you do that, the middle seat doesn’t deliver any social distancing, so it’s kind of an idiotic idea that doesn’t achieve anything anyway.”
He also said that 80% of its flights could resume by October if travel restrictions ease in July.