Ryanair strikes may cut jobs and f lights 16 flights to UK hit today and ‘more unrest to come’
Profits down 20% in first quarter
THE Ryanair pilot strikes may lead to job losses and fewer flights, the airline has warned, as it reported a 20% drop in profits for the first three months of this year.
This comes as Ryanair pilots stage a third one-day strike today, with 16 flights between Ireland and Britain cancelled.
In its financial report, the company threatened that if these ‘unnecessary strikes continue to damage customer confidence’, they will be forced to review their winter schedule, which may lead to flight reductions in some cities.
It could also result in job losses in markets where ‘competitor employees are interfering in our negotiations with our people and their unions’.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said that due to the ongoing unrest among pilots and cabin crews in Spain, Portugal and Belgium, it expects to see Air trouble: Michael O’Leary further strikes throughout the summer.
‘We have minimised the impact of these strikes on customers by cancelling a small proportion of our flight schedule, well in advance of the day of travel, to allow our customers to switch flights or apply for full refunds,’ the spokesperson said. ‘While we continue to actively engage with pilot and cabin crew unions across Europe, we expect further strikes over the peak summer period as we are not prepared to concede to unreasonable demands that will compromise either our low fares or our highly efficient model.’
The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, which is part of workers’ union Fórsa, has hit back at the airline’s threat, telling the Irish Daily Mail that the reasonable demands of pilots would not undermine the company.
‘This kind of threatening statement is not conducive to building trust and reaching a resolution to the dispute, and Fórsa doesn’t accept that jobs or expansion in the airline need be put at risk by company management,’ Bernard Harbor, head of communications at Fórsa said.
With no talks currently taking place between the two parties to the dispute, Fórsa has said that further strikes will not be ruled out unless Ryanair responds to their demands for a seniority agreement.
The union has said that its Services and Enterprises Division is due to meet tomorrow to consider further industrial action.
In its financial report, Ryanair said that French air traffic control strikes and staff shortages, mainly in the UK, Germany and Greece, have also damaged its summer schedule.
Rising fuel costs were also a factor in the drop in profits, while fares dropped by 4%.
The company expects low fare costs to continue into the second quarter due to the World Cup, the heatwave in northern Europe and uncertainty surrounding pilot strikes.
Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said that despite 2,500 flight cancellations, which affected around 450,000 customers, traffic grew by 7% during the threemonth period.