Ryanair warned of further German strikes

GERMAN flight crew working for Ryanair have threatened more strikes after the airline managed to avoid major turbulence in the country during its first ever pilots’ walkout.

The airline said nine of its 36 flights scheduled for the period of the strike, between 5:01am and 8:59am yesterday, were delayed but there had been no cancellations.

It said it was “grateful” to all its pilots for “ignoring this Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) strike”. But VC, the German union, has said that more strikes could take place after Boxing Day but before Jan 5, when the airline has offered to hold talks again. The union had held negotiations with the carrier this week but these ended prematurely when Ryanair said it would only deal with pilots it employed.

Part of the VC contingent included a former Ryanair contract pilot who is in a legal battle with the carrier. This prompted the company to halt the talks and offer to restart them in the new year to discuss a collective labour agreement. VC said it believed Ryanair’s actions showed “the principles of trade union autonomy are disregarded by Ryanair and that the company does not truly desire to enter into constructive negotiations”. This is a major factor in terms of the potential for more strikes, according to the union, which claims Ryanair should not be able to dictate who a union can bring to the negotiating table.

In spite of the strike going ahead in Germany, the airline has averted what could have been a bitter Christmas, after pilots in Ireland, Portugal and Italy threatened to strike or stage other industrial action. Michael O’leary, the airline’s chief executive, performed a major about-turn earlier this month by agreeing to recognise unions in six countries, which appears to have placated workers for now.

The move came just weeks after Peter Bellew, the company’s new chief operating officer, rejoined the carrier. Mr Bellew was a stalwart of Ryanair, working there from 2006 to 2015, before leaving to join Malaysia Airlines.

Ryanair shares in London closed down 0.66pc at €15.05.