Passengers travelling with Ryanair in Germany on Friday saw little disruption from a four-hour strike called by a pilots’ union, with most flights leaving as scheduled, and only some delays.
Germany’s powerful Cockpit union had asked Ryanair pilots to walk off the job from 5-9am (0400-0800 GMT) in a battle for recognition from the Irish no-frills carrier whose workers have been calling for better pay and conditions across Europe. But the first-ever strike action by Ryanair pilots in the company’s 32-year history appeared to have made little impact, with no cancellations reported.
At Germany’s busiest travel hub, Frankfurt airport, all six scheduled Ryanair flights left as planned, according to DPA news agency. Flights left mostly as planned at Berlin-Schoenefeld airport as well, where seven departures were on the board. The 6:40 am flight to Italy’s Bergamo however was delayed by five hours.
At the Cologne/Bonn airport in western Germany, at least one Ryanair flight to Copenhagen suffered from the strike action with passengers being told to expect a 10-hour delay. The Cockpit union said it was pleased with the response to its strike call, which had forced Ryanair to scramble to bring in pilots from abroad.
Published in Daily Times, December 23rd 2017.