Ryanair is planning to take back one week of its pilots’ holidays to prevent any further flight cancellations, the airline’s chief executive has said.
Michael O’Leary said pilots due to take a four-week block of holidays in the next few months because a change in annual leave rotas will be told to reduce that to three weeks. He said they will get the other week back in January.
At a meeting with shareholders at the airline’s AGM in Dublin, Mr O’Leary said the airline does not need the agreement of pilots to take back a week of their leave.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and an unnamed shareholder during the company’s AGM at the their Dublin headquarters (Niall Carson/PA)
He told shareholders six weeks of cancellations, which he previously admitted was a ‘mess’, has cost the airline about 25 million euro (£22 million).
Mr O’Leary again apologised for the disruption, which he said was down to mismanagement of the pilots’ rostering system.
He refused to discuss media reports that many pilots had turned down offers of a 12,000 euro (£10,600) bonus and instead demanded improved contracts.