The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has said there are "no question marks whatsoever" over Ryanair's safety record after an oil leak forced a Glasgow-bound flight to return to Dublin Airport yesterday.
The pilot of the 7 a.m. flight from Dublin to Prestwick made a decision to turn back shortly after take-off yesterday when a light in the cockpit signalled an oil leak from the undercarriage.
The incident was not in any way linked to recent incidents involving Ryanair flights, a spokesman for the airline insisted.
Another Ryanair flight from Dublin to London Stansted made an emergency landing at Dublin Airport last week after it suffered engine failure.
The incident was described by the authorities as a "level 2" emergency, more serious than an alert but less serious than a distress call. None of the 114 passengers on board was injured.
And last Wednesday, emergency services at Manchester Airport were put on full alert after two tyres on a Ryanair aircraft with 33 passengers travelling from Dublin burst on landing.
On August 8th, 100 Ryanair passengers were stranded overnight in Beauvais Airport, outside Paris, after an aircraft due to travel to Dublin had "technical difficulties".
Mr Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said the aircraft in yesterday's incident, a Boeing 737, had had its weekly check on Thursday evening.
"If something is going to go wrong, it will go wrong on the first flight after that check," he said. The airline had had a "run" of small incidents, he admitted. However, there was nothing unusual about them.
A report on the incident will be submitted to the IAA and the leaking hydraulic pipe will be returned to the manufacturer for examination.
Mr O'Leary said the 123 passengers had been offered either a full fare refund or accommodation on the next available flight.