IRISH budget airline Ryanair has launched flights for €19.99 for British expats in Europe for June 22 and 23 – as long as they vote for the UK to stay in the EU.
An estimated two million Brits have moved permanently to European Union countries, of whom the overwhelming majority – at least a million – are said to be in Spain.
But the real figures are thought to be at least 50% higher, given that many have failed to register their presence in Europe or de-register in the UK, and does not count ‘part-time’ expats whose main country of residence is Britain but who spend up to five months of the year in Europe, particularly Spain.
Ryanair’s chief executive officer, Michael O’Leary, says that although his company is based in Ireland, it is the UK’s largest airline and is a huge source of employment for Britain.
Around 3,000 people based in 13 airports work for Ryanair in the UK, and 41 million of its passengers are transported to and from Britain every year.
O’Leary is against a ‘Brexit’ and says the European Union’s ‘open skies’ policies have seen the tourism industry take off.
Britain is one of Europe’s most competitive economies, thanks to goods, services and people being able to move around the 28 member States freely, O’Leary says.
He believes prime minister David Cameron has ensured, through his ‘wish list’ agreed earlier this year with the other 27 member countries, that the UK will never have to join the euro and will cut red tape in general.
But a Brexit could cause investment in the UK to be drawn towards Germany and the Republic of Ireland instead, O’Leary believes.
The ‘fly home to vote remain’ €19.99 tickets are valid for all UK airports, from all airports in the EU – including Spain – but are available for all nationalities in practice, not just Brits, even though non-Britons cannot vote unless they are Commonwealth or Irish citizens.
Brits in the EU are only allowed to vote if they have been outside the UK for less than 15 years, although an appeal brought by two expats, including 94-year-old war veteran Harry Schindler in Italy, is on its way to the British Supreme Court after being turned down by the High Court.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com