More turbulence for Ryanair as it fires staff amid strike action

RYANAIR is to sack more than 100 pi‑ lots and at least 200 cabin crew in a winter cull of its fleet.

Union members called the move “reckless and unnecessary” and one that “belies recent Ryanair statements that industrial action… has had no im‑ pact on the company’s operations”.

The cuts come days after the low‑ cost carrier attacked pilot strikes, branding them “unnecessary”.

Ryanair will reduce its Dublin air‑ craft numbers from 30 to “at most” 24 for the winter. As a result, notice has been served on pilots and other staff “whose services may not be required from Oct 28 onwards”. Aircraft will be transferred to Poland for use by Ry‑ anair’s Polish charter, Ryanair Sun.

Peter Bellew, the airline’s chief oper‑ ating officer, said he “regretted” the job losses in “country markets where busi‑ ness has weakened or forward book‑ ings are being damaged by rolling strikes by Irish pilots”. Forsa, the union representing the pilots, said it demon‑ strated Ryanair’s “unwillingness and/ or inability” to follow through on promises to agree working conditions with staff. “Today’s announcement is a provocative gesture which is likely to harden pilots’ resolve,” a Forsa state‑ ment read.

On Monday Ryanair warned it was considering job cuts and route changes to mitigate disruption caused by a “tiny minority” of pilots. Its dispute with pi‑ lots from a number of countries is one of several battles it is fighting. It has grounded thousands of flights because of strike action by French air traffic controllers.

On Tuesday it joined British Airways owner IAG and low‑cost rival easyjet to demand European authorities step in to guarantee a minimum level of service in France. Meanwhile, Ryanair’s costs spiked in the first quarter, contributing to a 20pc reduction in profits, an‑ nounced on Monday. Shares fell sharply in response and Ryanair was dealt a fur‑ ther blow on Tuesday as leading City brokers downgraded the stock.

Cutting his estimates of Ryanair’s full‑year figures, Alex Paterson, an In‑ vestec analyst, said: “While we see con‑ siderable value in Ryanair and believe that the issues with unions can be re‑ solved, we believe that this will take some time and overhang the stock.”

HSBC said Ryanair’s acquisition of loss‑making Austrian airline Laudamo‑ tion was also a cause for concern. Ana‑ lyst Andrew Lobbenberg wrote: “We are not confident Lauda will be able to achieve system average profitability.”