DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

Budget airline Ryanair is ramping up a new offshoot with weaker worker rights.

The firm aims to grow Ryanair Sun from five to 20 planes next year. One element of the Polish-registered airline is that staff are self-employed contractors, a model Ryanair itself has largely phased out under union pressure.

Philip von Schöppenthau, head of pilot group the European Cockpit Association, said: “Ryanair is busy reaching out to the unions to show a new socially responsible face while building up a potentially unionfree company.”

Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer at Ryanair, said: “It’s the way the Polish market works.”

Ryanair passenger numbers rose 11% to 10.4 million last month thanks, in part, to it charging lower fares.