Almost 400 Ryanair flights across Europe have been cancelled today - a sixth of those scheduled - as a result of strike action by the airline’s pilots in five different countries.
Pilots in Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands are staging a 24-hour walkout over pay. The move comes as the Dublin-based airline faces legal claims from unions for allegedly dissuading staff to strike, in violation of labour laws, The Guardian reports.
Ryanair has confirmed that 396 flights across the Continent have been cancelled, forcing passengers to seek alternative routes on what is usually one of the busiest days of the summer for European airlines, says The Independent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The airline has described the strike action as “regrettable and unjustified”, and claims that its pilots are “paid more than other budget airlines”.
“We ask the striking unions to continue negotiations instead of calling any more unjustified strikes,” the carrier said.
Despite the walkouts, 85% of scheduled flights will operate as normal, Ryanair added.
Nevertless, this is the largest strike in the airline’s 34-year history. AOL News reports that “Ryanair planes have a capacity of 189, meaning more than 74,000 passengers could be affected”.
If your Ryanair flight is cancelled, you will receive an SMS message or email with further information. Anyone due to travel who has not been contacted by SMS message or email should expect to travel as normal, according to the airline.
The London Evening Standard reports that travellers affected by the cancellations are being offered refunds or transfers to alternative flights where possible. Passengers stuck overnight are “entitled to meals and accommodation until Ryanair can get them to their chosen destination”, the newspaper says.
The airline is under no legal obligation to issue refunds, as strike action is considered an “extraordinary circumstance”.
-
The UK’s supposed Christian revivalThe Explainer Research has shown that claims of increased church attendance, particularly among young people, ‘may be misleading’
-
How long can Keir Starmer last as Labour leader?Today's Big Question Pathway to a coup ‘still unclear’ even as potential challengers begin manoeuvring into position
-
Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far?Talking Point Under-12s ban on premium commuter train carriages in France sparks backlash across the political divide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
