Ryanair pilot surprises Ireland fans on Euro 2016 flight

These early-morning travellers on board a Ryanair flight were greeted by a very cheery Captain Browne who decided to break protocol and do his welcome outside of the cockpit.

The pilot was clearly in great spirits ahead of Ireland's Euro 2016 clash with hosts, France, and he obviously wanted his passengers to be in high spirits too.

See also: Passenger hilariously live Tweets flight from hell

See also: Why do airlines have the power to kick passengers off planes?

He started by saying: "I don't come out to the front. But today because it's such a special occasion I thought I'd do it out here for you."

The captain went on to welcome the passengers on to the flight before cracking jokes and encouraging all those on board to have a good time.

He said: "We want you to be as loud as you can, have a lot of craic, loads of beer on this flight, enjoy yourself, have a laugh. I want to hear a few songs as well."

He then proceeded to introduce his staff, giving them all the name of famous Irish footballer, Gary Breen.

But the fun wasn't over there; he then 'threatened' to turn the plane around if there wasn't enough singing for the 'boys in green'.

It wasn't long before he donned his own Ireland shirt, saying: "Ryanair has a very strict uniform policy, we're not allowed to wear our own clothes when we're flying.

"But today, because of the occasion, I'm going to put that out the window and wear my very own jersey when I'm flying."

Sadly the Irish probably won't be in quite such a good mood today having crashed out of the competition yesterday after losing 2-1 to the French.