Ryanair has insisted cabin crew were not aware that a passenger had suffered racist abuse on one of its flights until footage of the incident was shared online.
In a statement this morning, the airline lashed out at what it called "inaccurate media coverage" of the incident on a flight from Barcelona to London last Friday.
Footage showing passenger David Mesher calling a 77-year-old disabled woman an "ugly f****** c***" and an "ugly black b******" has been widely shared over the last week.
Ryanair has apologised to Delsie Gayle for the "unacceptable remarks" that were made to her and has referred the matter to police.
It has dismissed claims it failed to act quickly enough – and said it only became aware of the racist comments after the video emerged.
“Ryanair's Spanish cabin crew were aware of an argument between these two passengers during the boarding process, but were not aware of - as they were not present when - racist comments were made by the male passenger towards the female passenger,” said the airline.
“While these events were videoed by another passenger on a mobile phone, this video was not shown to cabin crew until after landing in London Stansted.”
A cabin crew member cannot be seen when Mr Mesher uses racist language in the video - but a male flight attendant is present both before and after.
Police leave a sheltered retirement housing block in Birmingham after speaking to David Mesher, 24-10-2018. Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire/PA Images
"Fit of temper"
Meanwhile, the man at the centre of the controversy David Mesher gave an interview to ITVs Good Morning Britain today in which he insisted he is “not a racist person by any means."
He said his outburst was “just a fit of temper at the time.”
The man who racially abused an elderly black passenger onboard a Ryanair flight has apologised for his outburst, saying he is not a racist and blaming a fit of temper for the incident which went viral.
More: https://t.co/mUzkHmApI2 pic.twitter.com/k0BAjV8kpF
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) October 26, 2018
However Ms Gayle has already rejected the apology noting that “he wouldn’t be saying words like that if he wasn’t racist.”
Company policy
Ryanair said its cabin crew followed company policy by attempting to defuse the argument and separate the passengers.
“In this case, the female passenger was moved at her request, to a seat adjacent to her daughter who was also travelling on this flight,” it said.
“After moving the female passenger, both passengers were asked if they were "okay," and both confirmed that they were.
“As far as the cabin crew were concerned, that was the end of the matter.”
Airline apology
The airline said it has written to Ms Gayle “apologising sincerely” and advising her that Essex Police had been informed.
Ryanair head of communications Robin Kiely said: "We again extend our very sincere apologies to this passenger for the regrettable and unacceptable remarks that were made to her by an adjacent passenger.”
“We believe that by reporting this matter immediately to the Essex Police and by apologising in writing to this customer early on Sunday morning, Ryanair treated it with the urgency and seriousness it warranted.
“We trust that this statement will address the inaccurate media coverage of this incident over recent days and that the legal rights of both passengers will be respected while the Police services in Essex and Barcelona conduct their investigation of this matter, with Ryanair's full cooperation and assistance."
On Tuesday, Essex Police said: "We have worked to identify both parties involved in this incident and passed this information to the Spanish authorities, who are leading on this investigation.
"Our officers will continue to provide assistance where necessary throughout the course of this case."
