Rosie's surprise as hands-on O'Leary checks in her ticket

The former Miss World -- who sued the airline for €80,000 last year -- had an awkward encounter with her former nemesis as she waited to board her flight.

The 28-year-old got a bit of surprise when she noticed the Ryanair boss helping to check in passengers.

She tweeted afterwards: "Ha! Just boarding a Ryanair flight & Michael O'Leary was personally checking tickets. #Awks."

When one Twitter follower told Rosie it must have been "a lovely surprise", she answered: "Just what I had hoped for."

The Dublin stunner was bound for London when she spied the airline tycoon hard at work.

Rosie explained: "We didn't exchange words, but he checked my ticket. I got a surprise and was trying to keep a low profile."

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This is only the second time she has flown with Ryanair since taking it to court.

"I think I've flown with them once since the court case last year. I needed to get to Gatwick and the timings just suited -- funny."

Rosanna sued Ryanair, alleging she was defamed in a news release on its website.

The news release was posted in reaction to remarks by Ms Davison about the absence of any Irish female cabin crew from a 2009 Ryanair charity calendar featuring international female cabin crew in bikinis, under titles including Miss Cockpit and Miss Fuel Pump.

Ms Davison said that, if she had been organising the calendar, she would have made sure Irish women were in it.

The jury found that she was defamed in a press release issued by Ryanair in November 2008, which described her comments about the airline's calendar as bordering on racism.

It awarded her €40,000 in compensatory damages and a further €40,000 in aggravated damages.

hnews@herald.ie