Ryanair has cancelled 150 flights to and from Germany today, due to a pilot and cabin crew walk-out.
The budget carrier, Europe’s largest, has 400 scheduled flights to and from German destinations today. Ryanair flies to 16 destinations in Germany, including the major cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin.
Earlier this week, German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called on all Ryanair pilots working at German airports to walk out from Wednesday 12 September at 2.01am BST to Thursday 13 September 1.59am BST.
Separately, the German cabin crew union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) called for a one-day strike for all cabin crew working on Ryanair flights.
Ryanair said that all affected passengers have been contacted by email and text message, and have been offered a refund or a free move to another flight. Passengers who have not been contacted should travel to the airport for their flight as scheduled.
In a statement, Ryanair labelled the German strike “a surprise” and “unnecessary”.
Both the pilots' union VC and cabin crew union ver.di are pushing for better pay and working conditions.
In an interview published this morning in Airliners.de, VC vice president Markus Wahl said that “further strikes are possible” if a deal cannot be reached.
Ryanair passengers have suffered months of misery thanks to ongoing strike action. In August, 450 flights were cancelled in a one day strike – affecting an estimated 75,000 passengers – when pilots in Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden staged coordinated walkouts. It was the worst day for strike action in Ryanair’s history.
At the end of August, Ryanair pilots in Ireland settled a dispute over seniority issues and base transfers throughout the summer. Earlier this summer, they staged five one-day strikes, resulting in dozens of flight cancellations between Ryanair’s home base, Dublin, and UK airports.
