CEO of Europe’s largest budget airline brushes off Italy’s investigation into low-cost carriers as a ‘joke’

Michael O'Leary has found himself in another war of words with government authorities. (Credit: Simona Granati—Corbis via Getty Images)

The outspoken boss of Europe’s biggest budget airline has laid into Italy, describing the country’s antitrust investigation into the company as a “joke” driven by populist politics.

Speaking at a press conference in Lisbon, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary took aim at Italy’s government as his airline fights an investigation by competition regulators into its pricing of domestic flights.