Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said air travel should be limited to those who are vaccinated against COVID.

In an interview with The Independent, the airline’s chief executive said the Government should drop travel tests.

He told The Independent: “It seems to us that their policies are designed specifically to discourage people from travelling by air, particularly when people are fully vaccinated.

“There is this Omicron hysteria in the UK, most of it generated by Downing Street and the Government overnment – I suspect to cover up their day-to-day mismanagement of almost every aspect of life.

“People are travelling reasonably normally in Spain, Italy, Germany and most of the rest of the EU countries.

“I see no justification for the UK Government rules that passengers who’ve already done the sensible thing and got vaccinated now have to take tests before they travel and, more ludicrously, two days after they travel.

“I would however support encouraging more and more of the unvaccinated minority to get vaccinated. Instead of introducing mandatory vaccination policies you have to make it more and more attractive for people to become vaccinated.

“So I would support limiting air travel to vaccinated people.”