Raymond Bencini, in his letter Thank Goodness The Toilets Were Free (March 8), commented on a delay to Ryanair flight FR3882 from London Luton to Malta (February 26).

We wish to assure Mr Bencini and readers that 93 per cent of Ryanair's flights arrive on time and to point out that this 90-minute delay was as a result of strike action by selfish air traffic controllers in France, and was out of the control of Ryanair.

Unfortunately, for customs and excise reasons, it is illegal for Ryanair to open its in-flight refreshment trolleys on the ground and we were unable to provide any refreshment service until in international airspace.

This year 73 million passengers will travel on Ryanair's guaranteed lowest fares, including up to one million passengers who will enjoy on-time flights to/from our new Malta base and we hope to welcome Mr Bencini and many other Maltese passengers on board our aircraft very soon.