RYANAIR has sparked fury after it mocked rival airline Aer Lingus over its link to allegations of immigration smuggling.
Responding to the news, Ryanair took to its official Twitter account with a picture of “man-sized catering”.
The tweet, accompanied by the caption “immigrants flies Aer Lingus”, has been widely criticised by many saying it is “disgusting” and in “bad taste”.
Labour Leader Brendan Howlin TD said the post was an “unbelievably cheap shot from Ryanair”.
“Low standards, made simple,” he added.
One appalled user wrote: “Idiotic, stupid and poor taste.”
Meanwhile at Dublin Airport, breaking catering news.... pic.twitter.com/GaKnchO1rF
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 23, 2017
Another said: “This is absolutely disgusting and not ok. Especially given how many immigrants work for your company! Take it down!”
The arrests of the three men – aged 28, 56 and 61 – took place at Dublin Airport on Sunday night as part of an operation conducted by the Garda Immigration Bureau.
Two of the men arrested were Aer Lingus employees, while Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said the third man involved was a suspected illegal immigrant.
Mr O’Driscoll told a press briefing on Monday afternoon that gardaí were analysing a “considerable amount of data”.
Despite the backlash over their tweet, Ryanair had not removed the post by Tuesday morning.
They did however post a subsequent tweet advertising a vacancy in the Ryanair social media team.
Unbelievably cheap shot from Ryanair. Low standards, made simple https://t.co/sC2btsgUjP
— Brendan Howlin (@BrendanHowlin) January 23, 2017
“Did someone get fired last night then?” replied one user.
Ryanair is no stranger to controversy on social media.
In response to the Aer Lingus tweet, a Ryanair spokesperson said: "While everyone loves our low fares, our social media posts may not cater to all tastes."
The Irish Post contacted Aer Lingus and is awaiting reply.
