Tensions were high in the Good Morning Britain studio on Wednesday morning, as Susanna Reid and Michael O’Leary failed to see eye to eye.
The Ryanair boss appeared on the show to encourage viewers to start booking their flights for the summertime, insisting it will be safe to travel.
However, Susanna brought up claims made by Irish travel agents, reporting Ryanair has failed to issue refunds to a number of passengers.
Back in February, the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) claimed the budget airline owed €20million (around £17million) in unpaid refunds to passengers.
As Susanna continued to quiz Michael about the refunds, he started to raise his voice, eventually shouting over the GMB presenter.
Susanna interrupted him to ask: “Hang on a moment. Whatever your dispute with the association, there are people who are not getting their money back.”
Michael yelled over her: “Let me answer…can I answer the point?”
The Ryanair boss claimed everyone who applied for a refund for cancelled flights directly through Ryanair has received one.
However, he then alleged those who are still waiting on refunds had wrongly booked their flights through dodgy third party booking agents.
He said: “We have refunded all of the people who have applied to us directly for refunds. They’ve either got cash refunds or vouchers. There is nobody left in the queue waiting for refunds.
“Except a tiny number of passengers who were duped into making bookings through these screen-scraper or third party agents where we have fake contact details and fake passenger details and we can’t contact the customer.
“We’ve had to set up a new system on our website, a customer verification form where those customers can come to us directly and get their refunds.”
Michael finished: “Anybody who has come to us directly for their refunds, get them.”
Later in the interview, Susanna quizzed: “You’re saying that if you book through a third party you’re not entitled to a refund?”
“Don’t book through travel agents, book through the airline,” Michael replied.
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Despite the clash, the interview ended on a positive note, as presenter Ranvir Singh remarked on Michael’s ability to speak quickly.
She commended him, saying: “Thank you for speaking quickly – we appreciate that on live television.”
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
