Ryanair passengers will face more disruption later this month with two further pilot strikes due to take place in Ireland.
The Irish Air Line’s Pilots’ Association has announced two further 24-hour stoppages on 20 and 24 July, after 30 flights were cancelled due to a walkout on Thursday. This week’s action affected about 5,000 passengers, including those on Ryanair’s busy Ireland-UK routes, after pilots staged a strike over pay and their conditions of employment.
The budget airline said that most of their customers impacted by Thursday’s strike were offered alternative transport or refunds. The company’s management and IALPA held marathon talks on Wednesday in an attempt to resolve the issues, but the talks broke down and the strike went ahead. The union said it was regrettable that Ryanair management had so far rejected the suggestion of third-party assistance to break the deadlock.
Ryanair, which has mounted a drive to recognise unions in an attempt to quell staff unrest, faces disruption elsewhere in Europe this month. Cabin and ground crew from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium have agreed to stage a walkout on 25 and 26 July, saying Ryanair has failed to address a list of demands presented to the company in a “crew charter” this week.
Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, Simon Coveney, said: “Our concern is that this dispute is resolved quickly and the travelling public is not discommoded in a significant way. As such, it is regrettable that the dispute was not solved when the two parties and their representatives engaged with each other.
“As a government we want to encourage both sides to find a resolution as quickly as possible. A lot of people rely on Ryanair to travel – for business, holidays and other needs.”
