The High Court will tomorrow hear a fresh bid to jail Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary for allegedly failing to obey a court order directing the airline to restore a senior pilot to flying duties.
Leave was given by Mr Justice Barry White yesterday to lawyers for pilot John Goss to bring an application tomorrow for the attachment and committal of Mr O'Leary, Ryanair director of flight and ground operations, David O'Brien and the airline's chief pilot, Ray Conway.
An order may also be sought for the sequestration of the assets of Ryanair.
The judge granted leave after being told by Hugh Mohan SC, for Capt Goss, that Ryanair, despite a court order of April 27th last directing the company to restore Mr Goss to flying duties, was still refusing to allow Mr Goss to resume flying, although Mr Goss had been certified as fit to fly by doctors.
The judge heard that Mr Goss had also been assessed as not suffering from any stress such as to impair his ability to fly. The doctors who had examined him included a medical examiner used by the Irish Aviation Authority to assess the suitability of pilots to fly.
Mr Mohan noted that when the High Court had on April 27th last made a mandatory order directing that Mr Goss be restored to flying duties, Mr O'Leary had said in radio interviews that same evening that Mr Goss would be returned to flying duties as soon as possible. Counsel also told the court that Ryanair had sent two letters yesterday seeking to dissuade the bringing of the latest contempt proceedings.
In an affidavit, Mr Goss said he believed Mr O'Leary would go to any lengths to ensure a message was sent out to other pilots and employees that any person who challenged Ryanair's industrial relations and anti-trade union employment policies would suffer.
Mr Goss has alleged in proceedings initiated last February that Ryanair is conducting a campaign of bullying and harassment against him because he is seeking to use normal industrial relations procedures in his dealings with the airline, and to have his concerns represented by the Irish Airline Pilots' Association.
Ryanair has denied those claims. A full hearing of Mr Goss's challenge to disciplinary procedures taken against him has been fixed for May 31st.
On April 27th last, an application by Mr Goss to jail Mr O'Leary and Mr O'Brien was deferred when the judge found that a secretary within the company, rather than they personally, had been served with notice of contempt proceedings. It was submitted at that hearing that Ryanair had breached an order made in February restraining the airline from conducting a disciplinary hearing with him.
However, also at the April 27th hearing, Mr Justice White granted a mandatory injunction compelling Ryanair to reinstate Mr Goss to his flying duties.
Mr Goss had taken those earlier contempt proceedings after Ryanair, in a letter of April 12th last, said that in its view it was sensible and operationally appropriate that he should not engage in full-time duties and he was suspended on full pay until the legal action fixed for May 31st (of Mr Goss' challenge to disciplinary proceedings against him) and any subsequent disciplinary process was concluded.
Yesterday, Mr Mohan told Mr Justice White that regretfully his client still had not been rostered to fly and that was why the contempt proceedings were being brought. In an affidavit, Mr Goss said that on May 3rd last he had attended a meeting with Capt Conway and the chairman of Ryanair's air safety committee, Michael Horgan. Mr Goss was accompanied by Turlough O'Neill, a Ryanair colleague.
Mr Conway said the meeting was exploratory and was to discuss the position with regard to Mr Goss's return to flight duties and that no decision would be made at the meeting to allow him return to flying duties.
Mr Goss said he was astonished and very disappointed to hear this as he had obtained the court order allowing him return to flying duties.
Mr Conway said he agreed with the decision of Mr O'Brien in relation to Mr Goss' suspension and that there were flight safety implications due to what Mr Conway had referred to as "escalating legal and industrial issues."
Mr Conway said he had not been aware of Mr O'Brien's decision to suspend Mr Goss from flying duties until the day of the hearing of the previous court application on April 21st, and that he had not reviewed the file until after the making of the April 27th court order, Mr Goss said.
Mr Goss said he had informed Mr Conway that he was ready to go back flying to which Mr Conway replied that he, Mr Conway, wished to "disengage from the legal process" and that he had to observe the protections that were in place for flight safety implications.
Following further correspondence, he had received a letter from Mr Conway dated May 5th informing him it was impossible to assign Mr Goss to flying duties. In the letter, Mr Conway referred to having allegedly consulted with two unnamed international experts. Mr Goss said Mr Conway had not stated those persons' areas of alleged expertise.
Mr Conway did not make any reference to Mr Goss's previous medical certification of fitness to fly, nor did he explain the basis for his opinion.