Ryanair, pirate of the skies

With a whopping 160 million passengers aboard its planes in 2022, Irish airline Ryanair dominates European skies. Thanks to its cheap tickets, the company has imposed a low-cost business model on all its competitors. And its boss Michael O’Leary is determined to cut back on any cost he deems unworthy. Alexis Gonzales and Arthur Gillet investigate behind the scenes.

This programme by Belgian channel RTBF is part of The European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR, RTBF and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.