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Four Ryanair pilots have warned on Dutch TV that the airline is putting its passengers' lives at risk - by flying with the minimum amount of fuel to save money.
The pilots said they are often just minutes away from making distress calls due to low fuel.
They also said the "stress" of flying with such low fuel levels leaves impedes their decision-making abilities in the cockpit.
The four pilots told of their fears on a Dutch TV show, but decided to keep their identities anonymous.
According to The Sun, one said: "There is pressure put on crews to take as little fuel as possible, in order to save money for the company."
Another added: "I hope it doesn't take a crash from one of our planes to wake everybody up."
But Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said the claims are not true, adding: "They are quoted anonymously, because what they are telling you are lies."
A spokesperson for the company said: "The claims made by this Dutch TV programme are factually untrue.
"TV programmes such as this, which are based on false claims by anonymous contributors, have no credibility."
It is not the first time the issue of flying with low fuel has been levelled at Ryanair; back in September, Spanish pilot union leaders accused Ryanair of flying planes with almost-empty fuel tanks as a way to cut costs.
The Daily Mail reports that the budget airline is being investigated by Irish and Spanish aviation authorities after a spokesperson for the Spanish union complained that Ryanair is "courting disaster" and "operating on the very limits of legality" in the way it fuels its planes.
The decision to investigate came after Irish and Spanish air safety experts met in Dublin about the diversion to Madrid of a Ryanair flight from Paris to Tenerife in September.
Spanish authorities are also investigating emergency landings by three Ryanair planes in Valencia on the same day (26 July), after they approached their minimum required fuel after being diverted from Madrid because of bad weather.
They were asked to join a queue but were given priority when they declared an 'emergency' due to low fuel.
Ryanair insists that these landings were all in line with EU safety procedures and says that passengers were not in danger. The budget airline has also rejected claims by the Irish pilots' union (IALOA) that it pressures crew to carry the minimum amount of fuel required under EU regulations.
But Evan Cullen, who heads the Irish Airline Pilots Association, told the Irish Times that Ryanair was "making pilots uncomfortable about taking extra fuel when they feel they need to take extra fuel."
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