Ryanair has agreed to talk with trade union Fórsa to take place at a neutral venue in a bid to stave off a strike by Ireland-based pilots this week.
The budget carrier had invited the union to its headquarters in Dublin to discuss the dispute over seniority and base transfers, promotions and annual leave.
The talks are due to take place today (Tuesday July 10) and tomorrow ahead of the planned 24-hour walkout on Thursday.
Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has reported that Ryanair has been working on contingency plan should the strike go ahead with affected passengers due to be told today about any disruption.
A previous ballot by the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) resulted in 99% support for industrial action but Ryanair said only 27% of its Irish workforce took part.
Ryanair gave pilots until 9am yesterday to respond to three options.
They were asked to either confirm they are rostered to work on Thursday and will attend for duty, that they are rostered for work but intend to strike or they are not rostered and wish to volunteer for duty to minimise customer disruption
RTÉ said it was unclear how many pilots have indicated that they will strike, or how many may volunteer to replace those taking industrial action.