Last week's exposé of Ryanair's supposedly inadequate safety and security checks on Channel 4's Dispatches programme will not be enough to deter travellers from snapping up cheap tickets on Europe's fastest growing airline, say industry experts.

Two undercover reporters spent five months secretly filming as they trained and worked as Ryanair cabin crew. The programme showed staff committing apparent breaches of procedure such as faking job references for colleagues, failing to inspect passports properly at the boarding gate and falling asleep on the job. Pilots were recorded complaining about the number of hours they had to work.

Ryanair hit back at the programme, saying it could disprove the allegations and promptly announced a sale of three million 'free' seats, confident its bookings would not be affected. It also released glowing customer service statistics, which showed that in January 89 per cent of its 18,384 flights arrived on time, and that it had received fewer than one complaint per 1,000 passengers.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which is responsible for ensuring Ryanair complies with international safety standards, said it had investigated the allegations and was satisfied that no safety breaches had occurred. For example, the reporters complained that cabin staff did not always check the life jackets before each flight, but the IAA insists that there is no regulatory requirement to do so.

'I didn't see anything horrendous. You would have heard the same comments and apparent disregard for customers at any low-cost airline and, indeed, most organisations,' said Simon Evans of consumer rights organisation, the Air Transport Users' Council.

The Civil Aviation Authority and the IAA also denied that the programme had raised concerns that other low-cost airlines might not be meeting safety and security requirements. 'I do not accept that there is a slack approach to safety in the low-cost sector,' said Lilian Cassin, spokeswoman for the IAA.

The ATUC's Simon Evans did not believe the programme would harm Ryanair.

'It's not a bad thing if the airline realises it is under scrutiny by the public and the media, but the show will have no effect on the industry and I don't think it will affect Ryanair's bookings,' he said.

However, some travellers have been deterred. The consumer website SkyTrax, a forum for travellers to post comments about their experiences with different airlines, reported that it had received more than 600 entries about the programme, most of which were negative about Ryanair.

'They simply do not care. If you have a company whose corporate ethos is aggressively anti-customer, it is not surprising that we see things such as on the Dispatches programme,' wrote Mike de Haan. 'At some point the board will realise they are committing corporate suicide in their approach to "customer service." In the meantime I have voted with my feet.'

But as a co-pilot stated at the end of the show, 'there will be plenty more who'll take their place'.