Ryanair says cancelling 190 flights over Friday strike
Ryanair will cancel 190, or eight percent, of its flights due Friday when cabin crews strike across Europe, the Irish no-frills airline said Tuesday, attacking rivals for the disruption. The carrier said 30,000 customers would likely be affected by the walkouts in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
“Ryanair sincerely regrets these unnecessary customer disruptions, which have been called by unions at the behest of competitor airline employees,” the Dublinbased airline said in a statement.
“In Spain, a Norwegian airline cabin crew member in Alicante is driving the strike, in Portugal a TAP cabin crew is calling for strikes without the support of our Portuguese cabin crew, and in Italy... this threatened strike has been called by a tiny union which has no recognition or support among our Italian cabin crew,” it added.
Last month, Ryanair pilots across Europe staged a coordinated 24-hour strike to push their demands for better pay and conditions, plunging tens of thousands of passengers into transport chaos at the peak of the busy summer season.
In July, strikes by cockpit and cabin crew disrupted 600 flights in Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, affecting 100,000 travellers.
Unions have claimed that Friday’s 24hour stoppage will be the biggest strike in the Irish carrier’s history.
Ryanair staff have been seeking higher wages and an end to the practice whereby many have been working as independent contractors without the benefits of staff employees. (AFP)