Posted on September 10, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

The Constitutional Court in Barcelona effectively told Ryanair to put a sock in it this week when they banned the airline from describing travel website Atrapalo as “bastards”.

Although no longer permitted to use this particular term of endearment, the court ruled that it’s still ok for the airline to refer to rival companies as “parasites of the sector”, “deadwood” and “illegal sellers”.

Someone trying to gag Ryanair? Imagine.

It’s no wonder CEO Michael O’ Leary has been letting loose at the media in fine style over the past few days…

Yesterday when cornered by The Independent about Climate Change, he came out with this humdinger:

“We’ve had an ice age. We’ve also had a couple of very hot spells during the Middle Ages, so nobody can deny climate change. “

“I mean, it is absolutely bizarre that the people who can’t tell us what the ******* weather is next Tuesday can predict with absolute precision what the ******* global temperatures will be in 100 years’ time. It’s horse ****.”

The silver-tongued smoothie had a few choice words for the Irish and Northern Irish governments too…

On scaling back Shannon Airport flights by a fifth:

“It is clear that the Irish Government and the Dublin Airport Authority monopoly are determined to destroy Irish air traffic, Irish tourism and Irish jobs.”

On Pulling Out of Belfast City Airport:

“We’re banging our heads against the bl**dy wall.”

“There’s nobody in Stormont now, they’re all on their holidays.”

So pr-wise, all in all a pretty good week for the airline then?