Ryanair cancels flights for 30,000 customers ahead of cabin crew strike on Friday
Ryanair has cancelled 190 flights ahead of a strike by cabin crew workers from six different countries on Friday.
Friday's strike will be held by cabin crew in Spain, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Italy and Germany. Ryanair said it has contacted the affected 30,000 customers by email or text this morning. It said 90 per cent of its flights would be operating as normal.
Cabin crew and pilots have been striking over the summer in a dispute with airline bosses over employee contracts, pay and working conditions.
Ryanair called the strikes "unnecessary" and "unjustified" and said they were being promoted by employees at competing airlines who wanted to damage the airline's reputation an business.
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Chief executive Michael O'Leary said at a press conference earlier this month that he would put up with strikes to defend the airline's low-cost business model. Today chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs warned that the strikes were damaging Ryanair’s business and customer confidence at a time of rising oil prices, and that if they continued it could affect capacity this winter and into next summer.
“We sincerely apologise to those customers affected by these unnecessary strikes on Friday, which we have done our utmost to avoid, given that we have already offered these unions recognition agreements, Collective Labour Agreements, and a move to local contracts/law in 2019," Jacobs said.
"We hope these unions will see common sense and work with us to finalise agreements for the benefit of our pilots and cabin crew over the coming weeks without further disrupting our customers or our flights."
The airline's rocky industrial relations were a serious talking point at Ryanair's AGM last week, in which nearly 30 per cent of investors voted against the re-election of chairman David Bonderman.
The disgruntled investors voted to oust Bonderman, saying his lengthy tenure on the board had made him unable to provide impartial and independent advice to chief executive Michael O'Leary at a time of worsening employee relations.
Read more: Ryanair survives shareholder backlash