Ryanair may be an Irish airline but it’s been getting involved in American politics of late.
Europe’s biggest budget carrier took to social media to make fun of President Donald Trump several times during the US election.
After Mr Trump posted a compilation video of clips of himself dancing, set to the Village People classic YMCA, Ryanair retweeted it with the damning caption: “when your dad is enjoying his sun holiday too much and hits up the MAGAluf strip”.
A later tweet in response to Mr Trump falsely claiming he had won the presidency for a second term read: “Trump declaring victory this early is like disembarking before the plane has landed.
“We don't recommend.”
Mr Trump’s son Eric also got the trolling treatment – alongside a picture of him looking slightly shellshocked, the airline tweeted: “the look of a man who might not have access to Air Force One in the future and will have to fly commercial.
“Don't worry Eric, we have €9.99 fares next time you're in Europe.”
And even CNN couldn’t escape the zingers – after the feted news channel accidentally had a Porn Hub tab up on its interactive media board, Ryanair retweeted the clip, commenting: “When you're showing your boarding pass and Chrome is still open on your phone.”
Ryanair’s newfound political interest appeared to go down well with followers, with its tweet about Eric Trump garnering nearly 100,000 likes.
It follows the carrier’s condemnation of the UK’s sudden prohibition on travel from Denmark.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, announced the UK’s first outright ban on arrivals from any country since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The move was triggered by fears about transmission of a mutation of the virus from mink bred at farms in Denmark to humans.
While British citizens and permanent residents in the UK are still allowed to travel, they must self-isolate for two weeks after arrival – along with everyone else in their household.
In another unprecedented decision, the rule applies equally to pilots and cabin crew. The effect is that the children of flight crew cannot attend school for a fortnight, while partners are unable to go out to work.
Ryanair has called on Mr Shapps to reverse what it calls “idiotic aircrew quarantine restrictions on flights to and from Denmark”.
The DfT’s statement in the early hours of Saturday morning read: “The government has responded urgently to the latest developments by bringing in a number of measures.
“The decision to act quickly follows the release of further information from health authorities in Denmark reporting widespread outbreaks of coronavirus in mink farms, with a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities.”
