24-04-2025
Watch: Michael O'Leary rejects 'vicious' rumour that he delayed flight back to Dublin
Ordering a ham and cheese panini could be enough to get you removed from a Ryanair flight back to Dublin if CEO Michael O'Leary is present having just won the Grand National.
That was the tongue-in-cheek threat in 2019 when his horse Tiger Roll won in Aintree, with the Dubliner telling passengers 'on board this flight we're drinking.'
The horse won the major horse racing tournament in 2018 and again in 2019, with footage of Michael O'Leary on the flight back to Dublin in 2019 in a celebratory form. Pic: TikTok
The video was shared on TikTok with the Ryanair boss telling passengers that there was a 'vicious and unfounded rumour circulating' that the flight delay was due to him wanting to catch the flight back to Dublin.
'Good evening ladies and gentleman, you are all very welcome on board this somewhat delayed Ryanair to Dublin,' Michael said to eruptions of cheers from passengers.
'There is a vicious and unfounded rumour circulating that we delayed this flight deliberately so that I could get back here from Aintree. This is entirely untrue. @horseracingawaydays 🏇✈️🍻Throwback When Ryanair And Tiger Roll Owner Michael O'Leary Bought The Passengers Free Drinks Each On The Flight Back To Ireland After The Grand National, He Received Criticism For Only Buying One Drink Each, So He Raised His Game This Time! 😂 #throwback #michaeloleary #ryanair #tigerroll #grandnational #horseracingawaydays #horseracing ♬ original sound – H⭕️rse Racing Away Days
'Your flight this evening was delayed by a bunch of Germans this morning who were screwing around the ATC so it had nothing whatsoever to do with me.'
A shout from a passenger telling Michael to 'get on with it,' could then be heard with the 64-year-old hitting back that 'it's not too late' for the passenger to be 'offloaded.'
He continued: 'As is tradition on evenings when we win the Grand National, we're having a free bar on board this flight. I got some criticism last year by limiting it to to one drink per person so that the crew could get to the end of the aircraft. O'Leary then extended congratulations to Tiger Roll trainer Gordon Elliot and jockey Davy Russell, who were amongst passengers on the flight back to Dublin. Pic: ©INPHO/Oisin Keniry
'Now you'll have two drinks per person.'
He added that 'if anyone orders a ham and cheese panini or a sandwich, I'm offloading you personally off this flight.
'You can buy your food in Dublin. On board this flight we're drinking.'
O'Leary then extended congratulations to Tiger Roll trainer Gordon Elliot and jockey Davy Russell, who were amongst passengers on the flight back to Dublin. Owner Michael O'Leary celebrates with winner Delta Work (left) and second place Tiger Roll (right) at Cheltenham in 2022. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
'Thank you very much everybody, sorry for the delay but we'll blame the Germans,' he concluded.
The post was met with a range of comments with some hitting out at the airline for their attempts at costly measures while others praised O'Leary.
'He owns Tiger Roll? That horse won me a lot of money a few years back,' one said.
Another added: 'Funny how this video pops up when Ryanair are facing constant backlash over the 10kg bag scam.'
A third wrote: 'Met him, he's the nicest guy ever.'
A fourth joked: 'Tiger Roll but no ham and cheese roll.'
