RYANAIR WORKERS SACKED OVER FAKE STRANDED PIC
Unions vow to fight dismissals
RYANAIR cabin crew pictured lying on an office floor last month after becoming stranded have been sacked, union chiefs said yesterday.
The image was “staged” in protest at their treatment at Malaga Airport on October 14.
The company said they were dismissed for “breach of contract on grounds of gross misconduct after staging a fake photograph”.
They were part of a group of eight pilots and 16 crew based in Portugal who say they were forced to spend hours in the office after diversions caused by Hurricane Leslie.
Luciana Passo, of Portugal’s SNPVAC union, said: “Ryanair thinks it was confirmed his client is contesting the application and is “anxious to get bail”.
He added Downey has a heart monitor fitted and asked the judge to consider an early bail application.
Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly said she was satisfied Downey is the person to whom the warrant related and remanded him in custody.
His extradition hearing will be heard on November 23.
Downey stood trial for the murders of four soldiers in London’s Hyde Park in 1982 but it collapsed after it was revealed he had a letter from former prime minister Tony Blair’s government that he was not actively wanted.
Outside court Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said: “This arrest was wrong.”
SNPVAC UNION PORTUGAL
harmed by the publication when it was no more than a show of the crew’s justified feeling of indignation.
“Our legal team are now dealing with the matter.” The airline complained the photo had been staged after union representatives claimed 24 crew members spent more than seven hours in the office sharing seven chairs and the floor before they were taken to a VIP area to sleep on shared sofas.
The company admitted the crew had spent “a short time” in the room because a Bank Holiday in Spain meant nearby hotels were full, but refuted claims anyone had slept on the floor.
Fernando Rikote, a spokesman for Spanish union, said the crews only flew back to Porto at 11.30am the following day “without sleeping at all”.
Another union rubbished the idea Ryanair couldn’t find room for the crew in one of Malaga’s 88,000 hotel beds.
Responding to the picture when it first appeared on a Facebook page called Ryanair MUST change, aviation expert Alex Macheras linked it to the strikes that have affected the airline.
He tweeted: “Once again, it become quite clear why Ryanair crew are frequently striking, citing poor working conditions.”
This was no more than a show of the crew’s feelings of indignation LUCIANA PASSO