Ryanair boss slams red tape

RYANAIR boss Michael O'Leary launched a brutal critique of the '10-year public inquiries, Nimbys and environmental studies' which have 'paralysed' the UK aviation industry.

The Government's recent airport expansion plans were 'about bloody time', he said. 'We've got to develop more runways and more terminals if we want to keep Britain at the forefront of the European transportation industry.' Otherwise, O'Leary warned, French and German airports will 'eat our lunch'.

His broadside comes at a sensitive time, with flight delays caused by air traffic control problems and moves by regulators which could undermine plans for crucial new investment by airports authority BAA.

Gross overcrowding at Heathrow makes BA's 3,400 weekly landing slots there increasingly valuable. The airline has started booking the value of relatively few slots recently acquired for cash, but the rights remain difficult to sell.

O'Leary, who unveiled a 38% rise in Ryanair's quarterly profits to £28m pre-tax, also called for 'an emergency recovery plan' to solve the air traffic control chaos, caused by 'huge staff shortages' at the new centre in Swanwick.

Ryanair's quarterly passenger numbers rose 38% to 3.54m, sales 29%. O'Leary cautioned that profits rises ahead would be less spectacular, but predicted '30%-35% sales growth and margins over 20%' over the next few years. 'We can keep up the growth as long as BA keeps its fares up,' he said.

He mocked merging rivals easyJet and Go as 'mid-fares airlines' in contrast with Ryanair's 'low fares'. The shares rose 5p to 387 1/2p, 23 times likely earnings.