The company said that it will distribute the funds of about €400m, via a share programme which will be concluded before December, subject to EGM approval.

Ryanair chairman David Bonderman said ” Following the sale of our 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus, the board intends to distribute the €398m proceeds to shareholders by way of a ‘B’ share programme.

“We expect this programme will be completed before the end of the calendar year.

“When completed we will have returned €800m to shareholders this year, and over €3.3bn over the last 7 years, in addition to more than doubling our share price over the last 18 months.”

Ryanair initially bought its stake in its rival for €407m. The company attempted to buy out Aer Lingus three times, but was unsuccessful.

Aer Lingus was delisted from the Irish and London stock exchanges last week, almost exactly nine years since the company’s launch.

The delisting comes after IAG completed its €1.36bn takeover of the airline. The former State-owned carrier is now a part of the British Airways owner, which paid €2.55 a share for the company.