Mr. Willie Walsh:

No, they are the passengers that EasyJet the airline flies, not the passengers that EasyJet flies from the United Kingdom because EasyJet operates outside the United Kingdom and connects countries other than the United Kingdom. I refer to a comment the Senator made, when he stated that British Airways was being outshone by both EasyJet and Ryanair in the domestic market. That is incorrect. According to the CAA statistics, British Airways flew 39.9 million passengers in the United Kingdom, whereas EasyJet flew 34.8 million passengers and Ryanair flew 29.4 million passengers. While EasyJet did fly passengers from France to Italy and perhaps from Denmark to Spain, not all the passengers it flies are in the United Kingdom market. British Airways also is the carrier that provides 62% of all cargo capacity in the United Kingdom, whereas EasyJet and Ryanair provide zero capacity. Members should consider the presentations made before this joint committee about the vital importance of cargo to Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to secure support investment in Ireland, and neither EasyJet nor Ryanair provide any of that. In the United Kingdom, British Airways provides 62% of it.