Ryanair Cancels 190 Flights Due To Friday Strikes

Ryanair said it has cancelled 190 of its scheduled flights for Friday, the day cabin crew in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain have called a 24-hour strike.

The 190 flights is about 8 percent of the total number the Irish airline has scheduled for Friday. Ryanair said it has contacted the 30,000 customers affected by the cancellations, out of the 450,000 booked to fly on Friday.

A company statement said the strikes “have been called by unions at the behest of competitor airline employees.”

It said that in Spain a Norwegian cabin crew member in Alicante is driving the strike, in Portugal a TAP employee is calling for strikes without the support of Portuguese cabin crew, and in Italy the strike has been called by a small union that has no recognition or support from Italian cabin crew.

Separately, Ryanair said it had agreed a collective labour agreement (CLA) with the three main cabin crew unions in Italy. The airline said the FIT CISL, ANPAC and ANPAV unions cover all of Ryanair’s Italy-based cabin crew.

The three year agreement is effective from October 1st 2018, and is governed by Italian law and the Italian Courts. It will allow Italy-based cabin crew to transition to local contracts and provide immediate access to Italian benefits such as maternity and paternity leave.

A new pay structure will deliver increases, with improved tax free allowances and the introduction of an Italian Pension Scheme.

Ryanair’s Eddie Wilson said the CLA is a sign of the progress the airline is making in reaching agreements with staff and unions in different EU countries. It “disproves false claims made by smaller unions not involved in these negotiations, and who are threatening strikes, which will either not take place or be unsuccessful,” he said.