Ryanair boss ‘happy’ to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said he would ‘happily’ fly asylum seekers to Rwanda, but only after summer.

The UK government has not approached the budget airline to aid in carrying out its controversial plans to ship thousands of people off to the African country.

But the Ryanair CEO has indicated he would be willing to make money off the deportation of migrants to a country known for human rights abuses.

O’Leary told Bloomberg: ‘If it was the winter schedule and we had spare aircraft sitting around and if the government were looking for additional deportation flights or any other flights, we would happily quote for the business.’

Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda finally passed parliament after hours of political ‘ping pong’ between the Commons and Lords on Monday night.

It’s taken months to reach this point since Boris Johnson first announced it, and it may be another two months before anyone touches down in Rwanda.

Some two years on, Rishi Sunak said Monday the first planes are booked to take off in the next 10 to 12 weeks.

Asylum seekers deported there will have their claims processed in Rwanda instead of in the UK where they sought sanctuary.

It comes at an estimated cost of £1.8million per person, according to the government’s official spending watchdog, the National Audit Office.

Human rights campaigners and legal experts have said the law is unworkable at best and inhumane at worst.

It’s been branded ‘dangerous and authoritarian’ by Human Rights Watch, but Sunak sees it as vital for stopping the flow of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats.

At least five asylum seekers – including a child – died crossing the frigid stretch of sea known for strong waves on Tuesday morning.

But they could face peril in Rwanda too.

Rwandan police shot dead 12 refugees during a protest in 2018.

The country’s president, Paul Kagame, has been accused of kidnapping and murdering his political opponents.

Among them was the outspoken critic Paul Rusesabagina, whose lifesaving actions during the Rwandan Genocide were depicted in the film Hotel Rwanda.

He was kidnapped from Dubai in 2020 and taken to Rwanda where he was convicted of terrorism offences.

The US government expressed concern over the ‘fairness of the verdict’.

Despite this, the British government insists Rwanda is a safe country for the ‘vulnerable’ people it seeks to deport there.

Welcoming the parliament’s approval of the Safety in Rwanda Bill, Sunak said: ‘We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.

‘The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay. 

‘Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.’

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