Eco activists have publicly protested against airline Ryanair's contribution to global emissions by hitting boss Michael O'Leary in the face with a cream pie.

O'Leary was preparing to hand in a petition at the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels when the incident occurred. Two women approached him, hitting him in the back of the head with multiple pies before walking off.

"Welcome to Belgium!" One shouted. "Stop the pollution of your planes."

'Welcome to Belgium,' says one protestor as she smears the cream pie in O’Leary’s face.https://t.co/6CjkWFSLCR

— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) September 7, 2023

Ryanair responded to the incident in a series of coy, promotional posts on Twitter. They however have not directly responded to the cause the activists were promoting. According to a report, Ryanair contributed the most pollution out of all the European airlines last year.

"Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price," said one post. Another jokingly complained about the type of cream used: "Shame it was soy-based cream, definitely not as tasty as the real stuff."

Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price 😏 pic.twitter.com/8jruYI3ZxE

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 7, 2023

Shame it was soy-based cream, definitely not as tasty as the real stuff 🥴pic.twitter.com/lcf23C674L

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 7, 2023

The Ryanair boss was handing in a petition that calls for the European Union to prevent airlines from flying over countries during local air traffic control strikes. These strikes have taken place around Europe and particular in France, disrupting countless flights originally supposed to pass over that area.