By Martin Banks - 7th October 2010
How many more times will Europe’s airlines and their passengers be disrupted
Michael O´Leary
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has urged the European commission to remove the ‘right to strike’ from essential air transport services such as air traffic controllers.
Speaking in Brussels, the Irishman also demanded a reform of the EU's passenger rights legislation which, he said, has "again been shown to be unfit for purpose."
He was referring to last week’s air traffic control (ATC) strikes which crippled passenger services in Belgium, France and Spain.
So far in 2010, he said his budget airline has been forced to cancel 1400 flights and delay over 12,000 other flights, disrupting over 2.5 million passengers, as a direct result of Belgian, French and Spanish ATC strikes and work to rules.
Addressing a news conference, O'Leary said, "Under EU regulations airlines suffer the costs of these disruptions without any recourse against those unions calling strikes or the governments who own the ATCs and repeatedly allow European airspace to be closed."
He said his airline will now take legal action against Belgocontrol following the wildcat strikes in Belgium last Tuesday, which caused the cancelation of over 90 Ryanair flights, disrupting over 15,000 passengers.
He called on the commission to remove the "right to strike" for essential services such as ATCs, sack any ATC staff who participate in "illegal strikes" and deregulate Europe’s national ATC services to allow non-striking ATCs to keep the skies over Belgium, France and Spain open.
"How many more times will Europe's airlines and their passengers be disrupted by unnecessary airspace closures, strikes and work to rules before the EU commission finally takes some action?
"Striking ATC staff are the modern equivalent of highwaymen. They don’t care about consumers, they don’t care about passengers, they repeatedly strike because they know they can shut down Europe's skies and hold governments and passengers to ransom.
"It is ridiculous that Belgian, French and Spanish ATC controllers can repeatedly strike without any financial penalty, while airlines suffer a 'right to care' to passengers and absorb the costs of these unnecessary disruptions.
"It is also unacceptable that Spanish air traffic controllers continue to engage in strikes, go slows and work to rules, causing delays and misery for millions of European passengers all summer long.
"It’s time the ‘right to strike’ within this essential service was removed, like it is in the US. If these people don’t want to work, then replace them with military and other air traffic controllers who do wish to work. The commission must act to now end this ATC chaos."
