Ryanair announced this Monday that it will take legal action against AENA, AESA and the USCA union, due to the "wild and illegal strike", which affected air traffic control in Spain on December 3 and 4. This strike caused the cancellation of some 500 Ryanair flights and affected approximately 75,000 passengers.
Ryanair is calling for the European Union to remove the right to strike from essential services such as air space control and to reform EU261 regulations on passenger rights since, in its opinion, "it has once again demonstrated its uselessness in meeting its objectives, during the recent controller strikes in Belgium, France and Spain".
According to reports from the company, throughout 2010, Ryanair has been forced to cancel 2,500 flights and delay some 13,000 flights, affecting approximately 2,500,000 passengers as a direct result of the controller strikes in these three countries. "Under EU261 regulations, airlines have to bear the costs generated by these problems without being able to take action against the convening unions or the governments of the European Union, which own the air control services and allow European airspace to be repeatedly closed," they point out.
Reform
Ryanair not only wants the right to strike to be removed from basic services such as air space control, but also asks the European Commission to reform these services, so that any controller who participates in wildcat strikes can also be fired, as Ronald Reagan did in the 80s.
Likewise, the airline requests that a deregulation of national air traffic control services be carried out, to allow the intervention of controllers who are not in favor of the strike in the airspace of Belgium, France and Spain, while, they point out, "their controllers, exceptionally well paid, and with low productivity go on strike again and again".
In addition, Ryanair believes that the legislation relating to passenger rights should be reformed, according to EU261 law, to remove airlines' obligations to compensate "in cases of force majeure" and situations that are "clearly beyond the control of the airlines".
"How many more times will European airlines and their passengers be affected by unnecessary airspace closures, strikes and additional work, before the European Commission decides to take some action in this regard?" asks Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara, who states that "the striking controllers are the modern equivalent of highwaymen. They don't care about consumers, passengers and continually go on strike because they know they can close European skies and take European Union governments and passengers hostage."
McNamaria believes that "it is unacceptable that Spanish air traffic controllers, some of whom earn almost one million euros per year, continue to cause strikes, intentionally slowing down their pace of work and causing delays and suffering to millions of European passengers without any economic repercussions."
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