Airline pays out after row over calendar comment

RYANAIR was last night ordered to pay a former Miss World £70,000 for implying she was racist, xenophobic, jealous and narrow-minded.

Rosanna Davison, 27, daughter of Irish singer Chris de Burgh, successfully sued the airline over comments in a press release about its charity calendar, featuring bikini-clad cabin crew.

Miss Davison, who was crowned Miss World in 2003, was awarded 35,000 for compensatory damages and 35,000 for aggravated damages, at the High Court in Dublin.

The case centred on a statement posted online by the airline three years ago in response to remarks Miss Davison made the previous day in a newspaper.

The model, who was asked about the lack of Irish women in the Irish calendar, said she would have made sure her compatriots were featured.

Ryanair's press release the following day said her comments 'bordered on racism'."