The worst of the post-pandemic disruption to air travel is over, according to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary, with strikes more likely to disrupt air traffic this winter than staff shortages.
Ryanair was the least-affected of Europe’s major carriers by the disruption to air travel which dogged the Easter, spring and early summer holidays and led to limits on passenger numbers at Heathrow, Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports.
But O’Leary, Ryanair Group chief executive, said: “I’m confident we’re out of the worst of that.
“You are more likely to face the risk of industrial action this winter.”
He argued: “The recruitment challenges at the start of the summer have been addressed, with the exception of Heathrow.”
Ryanair does not operate from Heathrow, with Stansted its main base in the UK, and it escaped the problems many airlines using under-staffed, third-party ground handlers suffered by doing its own ground handling at Stansted.
O’Leary explained: “We’ve had none of the cancellations other airlines have. We do self-handling at Stansted and Dublin.
“We operate at 21 UK airports and the only two we had problems with at the start of the summer were Manchester and Gatwick. They have largely fixed that. Heathrow seems incapable of fixing it.”
He claimed Ryanair offers “unbeatable reliability”, dismissed Heathrow as “hopeless” and suggested the new UK prime minister, due to be announced on September 5, “should start by sacking John Holland-Kaye” – the Heathrow chief executive.
Yet O’Leary warned: “You may see more labour discontent. Industrial action will be with as in some form or another since we operate at more than 100 airports [around Europe].”
More than 1,000 workers at Stansted airport began a ballot on strike action in a dispute over pay at the end of last week (August 26). The ballot by firefighters, maintenance staff, security officers and cleaners closes on September 19.
The workforce, members of the Unite union, rejected an offer of 7.5% plus a one-off payment of £250, with the union saying it “falls short” of what is needed “to pay simple household bills”.
Unite warned of “significant disruption” if a strike goes ahead.
O’Leary acknowledged “there may be some disruption” but insisted: “If there is a strike at Stansted, we’ll work our way around it.”
However, he conceded wage inflation “is beginning to bite, particularly in the UK”, saying: “We see pressure [on wages] in airport handling and junior cabin crew.”
Ryanair avoided wholesale job losses during the pandemic by negotiating substantial pay cuts with unions.
O’Leary said: “We’re gradually negotiating pay restoration and increases.”