Sami Mahdi (CD&V) had also booked a flight with Ryanair, which has now been cancelled: “Shouldn’t he lead by example, and walk away from such a company?”

Should a politician set an example and walk away from an airline that doesn’t care much about the rights of its employees? Hans Elsen, Ryanair’s ACV secretary, thinks so. He’s responding to CD&V chief Sami Mahdi, who admitted in a Friday morning radio interview that he had planned a Ryanair flight to Cyprus, which was canceled due to the strike. “I understand low-paid people when they’re looking for the cheapest flight,” Elsen says. “But Sami Mahdi’s pay is high enough to make a choice, so he has a chance to be a role model.”

Transportation economist Water Duolf thinks the criticism is a bit bland. You can already question Ryanair’s business model, but the company isn’t doing anything illegal. Where do you draw the line then? So, should politicians stop buying merchandise transported by low-paid Polish and Bulgarian truck drivers? Are they no longer allowed to buy cheap clothes in Primark? “

The Mahdi himself does not want to respond to this anymore.