Ryanair strikes: Everything you need to know

Hundreds of thousands of passengers are waiting to find if their flights will be cancelled in the next round of strikes at Europe’s biggest budget airline. These are the key questions and answers

Who is planning to go on strike, and why?

UK-based pilots working for Ryanair and belonging to the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) appear exasperated about a wide range of concerns.

“Our claim includes many issues including pensions; loss-of-licence insurance; maternity benefits; allowances; and a fair, transparent, and consistent pay structure,” the union said.

“We have made no progress with Ryanair management on any of those areas at all, seemingly because Ryanair management cannot understand how to go about working with us constructively, or how to negotiate.”

Balpa says 80 per cent of pilots voted in favour of strike action on a 72 per cent turnout. That means 56 per cent of union members voted for a stoppage.

Ryanair responded by saying the strike has the support of less than 30 per cent of its UK-based pilots, once non-members are taken into account.

“Balpa have no mandate to disrupt our customers holidays and flights, particularly at a time when UK pilots are facing job losses due to the Boeing Max delivery delays, and the threat of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October,” a spokesperson said.

Last week Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said the airline had 500 more pilots than it needs for the winter.

Ryanair claims that last year its UK pilots agreed a 20 per cent pay rise, taking some senior captains’ annual earnings up to £180,000.

It has asked the union to return to talks.

In addition, Ryanair pilots based in Ireland and belonging to the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) are voting on industrial action in a dispute over pay.

The result, which is expected to be in favour of a strike, is expected at noon – or shortly afterwards – on Friday.

The union must give the airline at least a week’s notice of a strike – which means it could coincide with UK-based pilots’ action.

When will the Ryanair pilots’ strike take place?

The pilots have announced five days of disruption: on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 August, and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 2-4 September. The strikes are planned for extremely busy days, especially for British families flying home to the UK from the Mediterranean

Brian Strutton, Balpa’s general secretary, said: “It is imperative that we resolve this dispute urgently to avoid strike action. No pilot wants to spoil the public’s travel plans but at the moment it seems we have no choice.”

How disruptive would a strike be?

More than two million passengers are expected to fly with Ryanair on those five strike days, but a large majority of them are not on aircraft planned to be flown by UK pilots.

The Independent estimates that around 350,000 travellers are booked to fly on British-crewed flights on those dates – with up to 50,000 seats still to be sold on those departures.

Because of the Ryanair business model it is unlikely that flights on any adjacent days, eg 24 August or 1 September, will be affected.

If a settlement is not found, experience of Ryanair pilots’ strikes over the past year suggests the impact is likely to be patchy, with around one-third to one-half of UK-crewed flights cancelled.

Note that many flights serving the UK will definitely not be affected, because they use crews based in France, Spain, Italy, etc, for flights to and from British airports. However, Ryanair cabin crew based in Portugal plan a five-day stoppage from 21 August as part of a dispute over holiday entitlement.

When will I find out if my flight is affected?

Ahead of previous strikes, Ryanair has informed passengers on flights that it has decided to cancel two or three days ahead.

I am flying on a strike day. Can I cancel now, get a full refund and make alternative arrangements?

No. The airline and union both say they do not want the strikes to go ahead. Even if they do, a significant number of Ryanair flights will operate. The only time the airline will offer a refund is once cancellations have been decided, two or three days ahead.

At this point cancelling for a refund would be unwise, because is absolves the airline of making alternative arrangements for your travel ...

What are my rights if the flight is cancelled?

Under European air passengers’ rights rules, Ryanair must find you a flight as soon as possible – including on another airline if necessary. Unless it can put you on another Ryanair flight at a very similar time to a different carrier, it must pay for a new ticket.

Ryanair must also meet attendant expenses, such as transport from Stansted to Gatwick or Heathrow to take a flight on easyJet or British Airways respectively.

Travellers who are booked on Ryanair as part of a package (flights and accommodation bought in a single transaction) are in a stronger position. The travel company who sold you the trip is responsible for sourcing alternative travel, and if it can’t then you can claim a full refund of the whole holiday price.

If you are obliged to stay abroad overnight, as many UK families trying to return home may be, Ryanair must provide a reasonable hotel and pay for all your meals, along with transport to and from the airport. This also applies if you are at a British airport when your flight is cancelled.

If I lose a night in a hotel I have booked, or a day’s pay at work, who do I claim from: travel insurance, credit card or Ryanair?

Your travel insurance policy may cover so-called “consequential losses” for money wasted on hotels or car rental. Credit-card firms accept liability only for services that are not delivered; if the problem is that the hotel is in Spain but you are in Britain, cover does not apply. And it is unlikely the airline will pay.

For late arrival home, again your insurer may offer a small payment. You could pursue Ryanair for financial damage under the Montreal Convention, but for relatively small amounts it is probably not worth the trouble.

Travel insurance taken out after the strikes were announced on 7 August 2019 will not cover claims for disruption caused by industrial action, as it is regarded as a “known risk”.

What about compensation?

The Civil Aviation Authority insists that Ryanair must pay compensation under European air passengers’ rights rules of €250 (£230) for cancelled flights of up to 1,500km, and €400 (£370) for longer trips.

But the airline says the strike is beyond its control and it need not pay.

If the strike goes ahead, no doubt a test case will settle which side is correct.