The top executive of Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair was slammed with a pie in the face by environmental protesters in Brussels on Thursday.
Michael O’Leary was preparing to speak outside European Union headquarters on Thursday when a female protester dressed in black smeared him with at least a cream pie.
“Stop the pollution,” the protester was heard shouting just before she smashed O’Leary in the face.
Moments later, a second protester hit O’Leary in the back of the head with another pie.
They dessert-tossing environmentalist did not identify themselves or say if they were representing an organization.
O’Leary was holding a cardboard cutout of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen just before the incident.
He was in Brussels to present a petition to von der Leyen with 1.5 million signatures demanding that flights be allowed to cross French airspace during air traffic control strikes there.
“My only complaint was that the cream was artificial and not tasty,” O’Leary later joked at a news conference.
European environmental activists say that Ryanair is the most polluting company on the Continent.
Brussels-based think tank Transport & Environment estimates Ryanair emitted 13.3 million tons of CO2 in 2022, allegedly making it the worst climate offender.
Ryanair says it is one of the most efficient airlines in the world due to the large number of passengers it fits into its aircraft and the low number of empty seats.
It plans to fly 12.5% of flights using sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
With Post Wires
This story originally appeared on NYPost