Ryanair pilots suspend planned one-day strike action

Move to reassure passenger travel plans over festive period

Ryanair pilots had been due to strike on Wednesday
Ryanair pilots had been due to strike on Wednesday

Ryanair pilots have called off a planned strike action due to take place on Wednesday.

It will bring certainty to Ryanair passengers travel plans over the Christmas period.

Flights to and from Dublin, Cork and Shannon were due to be affected by the one-day action.

The announcement was made on Sunday night by the Impact trade union which also represents in this case Ialpa, the pilots’ union.

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Impact said it called off the strike action because Ryanair had agreed to recognise the union as the representative of its Irish-based pilots.

Ryanair management and its pilot representatives will now meet on Tuesday evening though Impact said it can meet earlier.

It has asked the airline to release its pilot representatives so they can prepare for and attend the meeting.

The statement added: “The union acknowledged the principled determination of Ryanair pilots which it said had made this breakthrough possible and said it looked forward to establishing a positive relationship with Ryanair company management.”

The threat of a wave of strike action across Europe by Ryanair pilots prompted the airline to make one of the biggest U-turns in its history on Friday.

Pilots in Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Italy all threatened strike action during the busy Christmas period over union recognition.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary conceded the measure having said in the past that he would never recognise collective bargaining.

However, Impact/Ialpa said it would not call off the action unless Ryanair met union representatives before the proposed strike was due to take place.

Confirmation that the meeting with Impact will now take place Tuesday in advance of the Wednesday deadline was confirmed by Ryanair on Saturday.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times