Flights were going for between €650-€900 return, much to the dismay of passengers seeking to travel for the fixture on March 26 next year.
The Ryanair CEO has said flight price increases are due to empty legs of additional flights added to the route.
Speaking on the Newstalk Breakfast show this morning, Mr O’Leary said he nearly “crashed the car on the M4” listening to Fine Gael Senator Mark Duffy speak on the price hikes.
Mr Duffy had called for a review of airline pricing through the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Responding to comments by the senator, Mr O’Leary said: “I nearly crashed the car on the M4 this morning listening to that interview. He couldn’t be more wrong.”
The Ryanair boss described the adjustments the airline had made after the draw and explained the reasoning behind the price hikes.
He said: “We have a daily flight to Prague, during the draw, all the remaining seats on those flights on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday were all sold out.
“So before the draw was even concluded yesterday, we’re completely full on our daily flight to Prague.
“What do we do? We added, within an hour of the draw yesterday, we had an extra 15 flights going out to Prague and returning from Prague on that week. Now the reality of those flights is the returns are empty”, he said.
“So, while the prices are more expensive than we would normally charge, if we really wanted to price gouge people, we would have added one or two extra flights.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary.
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“We added fifteen extra flights. Fares are available on those flights between €300 and €400 each way.
“The return fare would be between €600 and €700, but that has to cover the cost of the empty flights coming the other way,” he added.
Mr Duffy had described the increases by airlines as “cynical”.
He said: “Flight prices had increased within seconds of the draw being made, where we were drawn away from home to the Czech Republic.
“Just there this morning, return flights from Dublin to Prague are up on €900, which is just totally outrageous and unfair.
“So what I’ve called for is a review of this through the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, because demand and supply is understandable, but this kind of cynical dynamic pricing that is used by airlines is totally unfair, and it’s taken advantage of loyal Irish fans who go to every single away game supporting the team through good days and bad and thick and thin, and they shouldn’t be taken advantage of,” he added.