Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary today called a British cabinet minister an "idiot" for claiming the airline was refusing to take climate change seriously.
Mr O'Leary said environment minister Ian Pearson was "foolish and ill-informed" for claiming in an interview with The Guardiannewspaper that when it came to climate change "Ryanair are not just the unacceptable face of capitalism, they are the irresponsible face of capitalism".
Mr Pearson described Mr O'Leary as "just completely off the wall" and stated the attitude of several American airlines was "a disgrace".
The minister was understood to be angry with Mr O'Leary's criticism of an EU carbon trading scheme that could increase ticket prices.
The Ryanair chief executive was reported to have dismissed the scheme as "just another tax".
In a frank interview, Mr Pearson said: "O'Leary just seems to take pride in refusing to recognise that climate change is a genuine problem."
But in a furious response, Mr O'Leary said it was time "Minister Pearson and other equally foolish politicians actually tackled the real cause of climate change, which is road transport and power generation".
"Like most politicians, minister Pearson talks a lot but does little. Unlike politicians, Ryanair has spent over $10 billion dollars to become Europe's greenest and cleanest airline, a fact recently recognised by the Dutch consumer organisation," he said.
Mr O'Leary went on: "At a time when aviation generates just 1.6 per cent of greenhouse gases, isn't it time that minister Pearson and other equally foolish politicians actually tackled the real causes of climate change, which is road transport and power generation?"
In the interview, Mr Pearson also criticised the attitude of the American airline industry: "They just seem to be saying they don't want anything to do with the trading scheme, and that they will take the EU to court if transatlantic flights are included. It is completely irresponsible."
He added: "Even British Airways are only just playing ball." BA is headed up by former Aer Lingus chief Willie Walsh.
"They say they are happy with a trading scheme that is confined to flights within Europe, rather than one that includes all flights departing the EU," he added.
"Like every other industry, the airline industry has to got to take its share of responsibility for combating climate change and the European Union's proposals is the vehicle by which they can do just that."