The prospect of pilots employed by Ryanair in Ireland supporting a strike by their British counterparts has receded.
Their trade union, the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), has accepted an invitation from the mediator, Kieran Mulvey, to attend talks on the dispute on Wednesday.
The union is seeking “pay levels and structures that are in line with sector norms", with 94 per cent of directly employed Ryanair pilots who are members of Ialpa voting for industrial action.
It says the airline, which posted profits of €1bn (£930m) last year, is in a healthy financial position and can afford to reward its pilots fairly.
Ialpa has demanded “a substantive and meaningful counter-proposal from Ryanair management, which properly addresses all areas of the union’s claim” by tomorrow, or a strike would be called for next week.
Such industrial action is likely to hit services across the Irish Sea.
British pilots employed in the UK by Ryanair have also voted strongly to strike, and are planning to walk out on 22 and 23 August as well as 2, 3 and 4 September.
The airline said that once non-union flight crew and those not directly employed were counted, “less than 25 per cent of Ryanair’s Irish pilots” voted for industrial action.
“This disruption of customers' holiday plans has no valid mandate from Ryanair’s Irish pilots,” the airline said.
Cabin crew working for Ryanair in Portugal are also threatening industrial action too. The Portuguese union SNVPAC has announced a strike between August 21 and 25 in protest against a plan to close the Ryanair base in Faro.
