Members of the Ialpa pilot union at Ryanair are set to go on strike for a full 24 hours on Thursday, July 12. The strike will start at 1am, and the union has indicated that it will inform the airline about additional strike days as necessary.
In response, Ryanair expressed its disappointment with the strike action but assured that most of its customers wouldn’t face disruptions. The airline plans to contact all passengers traveling from Ireland next Thursday by email and SMS if the strike proceeds.
The union revealed that 99% of its members supported the industrial action in a recent vote, which was counted at 2pm today. The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, a branch of the Fórsa trade union, announced that it has issued a notice of industrial action to Ryanair.
Only pilots based in Ireland participated in the vote. The core issue in the dispute is management’s policy on transferring pilots between European and African bases. The union seeks a formal agreement to manage these base transfers and related concerns.
Pilots employed directly by Ryanair have raised concerns about the lack of a clear and fair system for important decisions such as voluntary or involuntary base transfers, command upgrades, annual leave allocation, and promotions. They argue that forced base changes or denied transfer requests can severely impact family life.