The Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has reportedly said that he does not care about the airline’s share price – as long as the carrier wins a price war on European routes.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr O’Leary said: “Screw the share price – we are in a fare war.”

The outburst came as the ebullient airline director said he was going to challenge the EC ruling that Ryanair received illegal state subsidies at its Belgian base in Charleroi.

He reportedly said: ”I own more of the shares than anyone else. They can join the queue behind me. We are in a fare war and we are going to win it. If they are not happy they can always sell them.” The airline’s share price dropped 10p yesterday.

Ryanair yesterday filed its appeal against the ruling, at the European Court of First Instance in Brussels. The EC ruled that Charleroi airport and the local Walloon government gave illegal subsidies and that the carrier would have to pay 4.5 million euros.

But O’Leary reportedly said: “We have better deals at three of our eight bases but the Commission wasn’t interested in looking at them. If privately-owned operators are offering long-term discount deals, public ones are allowed to offer similar deals.”