The Ryanair Strike: One In Six Flights Cancelled In Pilot Walkout

Ryanair is currently facing strikes by pilots in five European countries, forcing the cancellation of a sixth of the airline’s flights during the summer peak season.

A Dutch court rejected a case from Ryanair yesterday that was seeking to block pilots in the Netherlands from joining the strike, affecting about 22 flights.

However at about the same time, Ryanair issued a statement clarifying there would be no cancellations.

The 24-hour walk-out involved staff in Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands and roughly 50,000 passengers are believed to have been told of cancellations on 400 flights.

The action is the largest in a series of strikes faced by Europe’s largest budget airline over pay and conditions.

Roughly 300 Ryanair flights were cancelled last month when cabin crews in Belgium, Portugal and Spain went on strike for 48 hours.

In recent days, the budget airline announced the cancellations of 250 flights in and out Germany, 104 to and from Belgium and another 42 affecting Sweden and Ireland.

Ryanair claims it has made every effort to resolve the dispute: “The majority of customers affected have already been re-accommodated on another Ryanair flight.”

The unions want the contracts of Ryanair employees to be governed by the laws of the nation where they are based, not by Irish legislation.

Ryanair has described the strike action as “regrettable and unjustified”, claiming its pilots are paid more than other budget airlines.