A group of Dublin-based pilots who have voted to strike five days before Christmas have been condemned by the airline.
The 24-hour walkout by the 79 pilots is to be staged on December 20 in an attempt to win union recognition and better conditions.
The budget carrier says they represent less than 28% of Dublin-based captains.
“While some disruption may occur, Ryanair believes this will largely be confined to a small group of pilots who are working their notice and will shortly leave Ryanair, so they don’t care how much upset they cause colleagues or customers,” the airline said.
“Ryanair has already confirmed that any Dublin pilots who participate in this industrial action will be in breach of the Dublin pilots base agreement and they will lose those agreed benefits which arise from dealing directly with Ryanair.”
The Irish pilots’ union Impact said the dispute was “solely about winning independent representation for pilots in the company”, according to official Ashley Connolly.
Meanwhile, Ryanair pilots and cabin crew in Italy plan to strike for four hours on Friday (December 15).
The airline said last week it would “ignore” the Italian move, claiming staff rarely heeded calls to walk out.
Pilots based in Portugal and Germany are also planning industrial action.
Ryanair said it would “not deal with or recognise” the German union “regardless of what action – if any – takes place”.
The airline said in September that more than 2,000 flights would be cancelled this winter after it rearranged pilots’ rosters to comply with new aviation rules.
Later that month Ryanair announced 18,000 further flights would be cancelled over the winter season, affecting more than 700,000 passengers.