Environmental activists threw a custard tart at Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary outside the European Union headquarters in Brussels in a protest against the airline’s carbon emissions as he prepared his own protest against strike action at the Irish company.

“Welcome to Belgium. Stop the pollution,” shouted two female activists after throwing two cream tarts at O’Leary’s face and the back of his head.

“Hey,” he quipped himself, wiping his face in front of the cameras.

The incident took place in the middle of the road, while the boss of the Irish company was preparing to speak to journalists protesting the strikes affecting the company in Belgium. In fact, O’Leary, at the time of the attack, was setting up a paper effigy of European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen as part of his own protest.

Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers and carries over 20% more passengers than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Brussels-based think tank Transport and Climate (T&E) estimates that Ryanair will emit 13.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022, making it the most polluting airline.

Ryanair says it is one of the most efficient airlines in the world because of the large number of passengers it can fit on its aircraft and the small number of empty seats.

It plans to operate 12.5% ​​of flights on sustainable aviation fuels by 2030.

O’Leary later joked about the protest.

“My only complaint was that the tart was made with substitute ingredients and was not tasty,” he told a press conference.

In the same ironic tone, photos posted on Ryanair’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) show the company’s CEO covered in tarts.

“Warm welcome to Brussels today”, “Instead of buying tarts I could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price”, were some of the posts.

Earlier today, Ryanair pilots based at Charleroi Airport in Belgium called a new strike on September 14 and 15, the fourth strike in two months.

The pilots accuse the company of not respecting regulations and demand better wages and more rest time.

The Irish airline is regularly criticized by industry unions for its staff management methods and the working conditions of its pilots.