UK Edition
Thousands of Ryanair passengers face disruption as airline cancels over 100 flights due to fresh strikes next week
Thousands of Ryanair passengers face disruption next week as the airline is cancelling more than 100 flights due to multiple strikes across Europe.
Pilots in Ireland, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands have all voted to take industrial action, planned for next Friday, August 10.
German Ryanair pilots have also voted to strike but are yet to announce the date.
As a result, Ryanair has cancelled 104 flights to and from Belgium on Friday, 22 to and from Sweden and 20 flights from Ireland. The Irish cancellations alone will affect around 3,500 passengers.
The airline is yet to specify how many other flights will be cancelled due to the other strikes.
Ryanair said it has notified all customers affected and is providing refunds or alternative flights.
The latest action comes as the airline has been hit with a series of pilot and cabin crew strikes over the last weeks.
Next Friday is the fifth strike by Irish pilots since July 12 and Ryanair has proposed third-party mediation with the Irish union Forsa to help end the dispute. A proposal the union has today accepted.
Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs, said: “This 5th strike notice by Forsa is irresponsible, unwarranted and is disrupting customers and (a way of damaging) Ryanair’s business and our share price.
He added: “We apologise sincerely to the 3,500 Irish customers whose flights next Fri 10 Aug will be disrupted because Forsa won’t meet us to resolve this dispute, even though we have agreed 9 of Forsa’s 11 requirements.”
In response, Forsa has accused Ryanair of “rewording” some of its demands and effectively “negotiating with itself rather than the pilot representatives”.
Tensions with Irish pilots were inflamed earlier this week when Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, threatened to move part of the Irish fleet to Poland if the disruption continued.
He said: “If some market is being damaged as the Irish market has been damaged in recent months by these activities, the Polish market is growing hugely strongly for us, the Ryanair Sun is very full, profitable, we need more aircraft in the Polish market - move aircraft to Poland.”
Ryanair is facing a summer of industrial unrest after it reversed decades of policy last year to said it would officially recognise unions.
The move came after cabin crew and pilots threatened a number of strikes over the Christmas period in a bid to get improved conditions.
While the airline has recognised some unions in larger countries such as the UK, negotiations have stalled in some smaller countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands.