FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair commercial passenger jet takes off in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair RYA.I is to ask competition authorities to force British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L to make divestments as part of its purchase of Air Europa, chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Monday.

“I think it is a good deal for IAG, for Willie Walsh. I think it is a bad deal from a competition point of view,” O’Leary said on a conference call with analysts.

“It is a merger to monopoly in Madrid and I think we would certainly be looking for the competition authorities to require some competition divestments, particularly in the Air Europa short-haul,” he said.