RYANAIR TO SUE UNIONS

News

Mark Nolan / 2010-12-19 23:56:51

Often controversial budget airline Ryanair has announced that they intend to take legal action against Spanish air controllers union USCA, which it considers "responsible" for the "savage and illegal strike which led to the cancellation of over 500 of the carrier’s flights, affecting around 75,000 of their passengers.

In a statement, airline spokesman Stephen McNamara said "It is unacceptable that Spanish Air Traffic Controllers, some of whom earn almost 1 million euro (843, 000 pounds) per year, continue to engage in strikes, go-slows and work to rules, causing delays and misery for millions of European passengers without any financial ramifications."

Ryanair reiterated its appeal to the European Union to "remove" the right to strike in essential services such as control of airspace and reform legislation on passenger rights.

This latest action has added to the frustrations of airline operators and passengers, who had already suffered recent strikes by operators in Belgium, France and Spain. During 2010, Ryanair has been forced to cancel 2,500 flights and delayed about 13,000, affecting some 2,500,000 passengers as a direct result of the collective work stoppages in these countries.

The company also complains that under the European UE261 legislation, airlines must bear the costs incurred by these delays, which they consider unreasonable as they are outside their own control. Therefore, Ryanair have called on the European Commission to reform the air traffic control system, including the elimination of the right to strike, in a similar way that the U.S. administration did in the 80's with Ronald Reagan.

They have also called for the deregulation of the national air traffic control network, to allow the intervention of controllers that are not in favour of action to continue to work in the affected areas. Finally, they have called for reform of legislation on passenger rights to ensure they can be exempt of paying compensation in the case of force majeure and situations "that are clearly beyond the control of airlines."