Ryanair has asked the Financial Services Authority to investigate what it calls 'selective briefings' given by Aer Lingus to the Government on the closure of its Shannon-Heathrow routes eight weeks before all shareholders were notified through the stock exchange.
Ryanair said this evening it has lodged a complaint with the Irish Financial Regulatory Services Authority on what it calls the 'apparent breach' by Aer Lingus of company law and stock exchange rules in giving the briefings of 'market sensitive information'.
Ryanair, which is Aer Lingus's biggest shareholder, with a 29.4% holding, says it is concerned that the Department of Transport, which holds a 25% of shares, was 'repeatedly' briefed on this market sensitive information by Aer Lingus management three times before the formal stock exchange announcement.
Ryanair's Jim Callaghan said that the Aer Lingus's CEO, Dermot Mannion, said on RTE radio on 12 August that all shareholders were advised at the same time, but that this was this week proved to be untrue.
It emerged this week that the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, learned of the Aer Lingus decision to end the Heathrow to Shannon link six weeks after his Department knew,
Minister Noel Dempsey yesterday blamed human error as the reason he did not receive the file from his Department, which showed that Aer Lingus intended to end the Heathrow link to Shannon, in early June.
Minister Dempsey was answering questions in the Dáil, where Labour's Tommy Broughan had earlier called on him and his predecessor Martin Cullen to resign.
