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Michael O’Leary has said that the UK economy is “doomed to continue to fail” until the tax burden starts to come down. Asked on Sky News about what advice he would offer ahead of the Budget, the Ryanair chief said Rachel Reeves should reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD) and reverse “crazy” planned hikes to the tax. The low-cost airline boss said: “We support growth. But Rachel Reeves hasn’t the rashers how to deliver growth.” He added that the Labour government is “taxing ordinary families at a rate of 33 per cent”. The comments follow another strong set of financial results for the airline, in its half-year update on Monday morning, with pre-tax profit up 40 per cent from the same period last year to £2.2bn. Ryanair had 119m passengers, up three per cent from last year, with the average airfare up 13 per cent to £50.90. Its shares were up 1.5 per cent – up to 62.48p – on Monday morning. The firm said its improved Boeing aircraft helped it bolster flight capacity for peak travel periods such as October school holidays and Christmas. Airports outside of London hit hardest O’Leary said that London airports are better shielded against the force of APD hikes, as they are “full and can pay the taxes”, but that airports outside the capital are in a trickier position. He said with regards to “non-London airports” that there is “enormous growth available to this Labour government in airports like Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh”. “Airports that are being under-used. But that growth is being stifled by her crazy decision to increase APD by two pounds.” Of the outlook for the UK economy going forward, the Ryanair boss said: “And until she starts cutting these insane taxes and stops trying to tax wealth, the UK economy is doomed to continue to fail.” “And in a bizarre way that’s probably good for Ryanair’s business, because as people get more price sensitive, more and more of them will fly Ryanair.”
