By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 26 Sep 2018 • 18:54
BUDGET airline, Ryanair, has revised the number of cancelled flights on Friday (September 28) downwards and says it expects ‘the vast majority of its people work as normal’ during the stoppage described by the unions as the ‘biggest strike ever’ to hit the airline. Cabin crew in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy will be joined in the walk-out by Dutch pilots. Yesterday the company announced that 190 flights would be cancelled disrupting the travel plans of 30,000 passengers who were given only three days notice of the cancellations – either by text or email. But in a Tweet today, Ryanair said: “The number of flights cancelled this Fri, 28 Sept has been reduced to 150 (from the expected 190) as the vast majority of our people will work as normal. Over 92% of Ryanair’s 2,400 flights on Fri will be unaffected by these unnecessary strikes and will operate as scheduled. “All affected customers received emails and SMS text messages 3 days in advance (yesterday, 25 DSep) advising them of their flight cancellation and their options. We sincerely apologise to those customers affected by these unnecessary strikes… which we have done our utmost to avoid. For those passengers still affected the Civil Aviation Authority has urged them to claim €250 or €400 in compensation under European air passengers’ rights rules. But the airline has said they will reject compensation claims for strikes because they were caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’. Ryanair has also today published its offer to pilots and cabin crew ‘in order to set the record straight, correct competitor trade union propaganda and pave the way to a speedy conclusion of collective labour agreements (CLA’s) with its people and their unions.’ The Irish low-cost carrier has also submitted a competition complaint to the European Commission, calling for ‘an investigation of the anti-competitive behaviour of certain competitor airline crew, unions and lobby groups, who are actively impeding Ryanair’s negotiations with its pilots/cabin crew and who are organising repeated strikes in an effort to damage Ryanair’s business and customer confidence, for the benefit of Ryanair’s competitors.’
RYANAIR STRIKE: 30,000 passengers to be hit by flight cancellations on FRIDAY
Customer Update for Fri, 28 Sep: pic.twitter.com/Opt7nHfAuh — Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 26, 2018
Customer Update for Fri, 28 Sep: pic.twitter.com/Opt7nHfAuh
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 26, 2018
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