MADRID (AFP)--Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA.DB) will only go ahead with a "fat tax" on overweight passengers if it doesn't lead to flight delays, the chief executive of the Irish budget airline said Thursday.
"We are not going to introduce a fat tax unless it is easy to administer. If it is going to slow down either our check-in or our turnaround time then we won't do it," Micheal O'Leary told a news conference.
Last week, the airline said it was looking at how it could introduce a "fat tax" after 29% of the more than 100,000 people who responded to an online poll on cost-reduction measures voted in favor of the measure.
A quarter of respondents voted to charge travelers EUR1 to use toilet paper adorned with a picture of O'Leary's face and 24% voted to charge passengers EUR3 to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle.
Ryanair, which already charges separately for services like food onboard, launched the online poll after O'Leary caused a storm this year by suggesting passengers could be charged to use toilets onboard airplanes.
It is now asking travelers online how any "fax tax" could be levied. The four options include charging male passengers who weigh over 130 kilograms or females over 100 kilograms for every extra kilogram they carry.
Another alternative is charging for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests simultaneously.
The proposed measure sparked a fresh controversy with some suggesting it would be discriminatory and illegal if it is adopted, a charge O'Leary rejected.
"It is not against the law, we can make it a safety issue," he said.
