Irish opposition party Fianna Fail has called on the Irish parliament to investigate allegations about Ryanair’s safety policy made in a recent Channel 4 documentary.
Ryanair rejected the claims and has issued proceedings against Channel 4 and the programme makers as well as a former pilot who featured in the documentary and the Mail and Mirror newspapers.
The programme contained allegations of safety concerns among Ryanair pilots.
Irish broadcaster RTE reported Fianna Fail has written to Ireland’s Oireachtas (parliamentary) Committee on Transport seeking an inquiry into the claims.
The party’s transport spokesman Timmy Dooley said: “This documentary raises important issues that require further investigation.
“It is in the public interest and the interests of the airline that we get to the bottom of what has been reported.
“I believe the airline could benefit from cooperating with an investigation to clear its name.”
Dooley added: “Ryanair is one of Ireland’s great business success stories. It is one of the largest and most recognisable brands in the world.
“Its reputation could be put at risk by the allegations in this documentary.”
Ryanair described the Channel 4 documentary, Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit, as defamatory and the claims as “bogus” and “fabricated”.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “We stand by our journalism and will robustly defend proceedings.”