Ryanair strike: Pilots and cabin crew in Germany to protest over pay and working conditions

It follows a summer of strikes for the Irish carrier

Ryanair pilots in Germany will walk out tomorrow, 12 September, for 24 hours (umenie/iStock)

Ryanair pilots and cabin crew in Germany will strike tomorrow, Wednesday 12 September, in an ongoing row over pay and working conditions.

German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called on all Ryanair pilots working at German airports to walk out from Wednesday 12 September at 2.01am BST to Thursday 13 September 1.59am BST.

Separately, the German cabin crew union called for a one-day strike to "put pressure" on Ryanair. The union, Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di), says that 1,000 cabin crew members will walk out.

All Ryanair flights to and from German airports during this time will be affected.

The budget carrier, Europe’s biggest, flies to 16 destinations in Germany, including Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin.

“Despite the strong signal of the strike action at the beginning of August, negotiations have come to a standstill. We are ultimately expecting solutions,” said Ingolf Schumacher, head of industrial relations VC.

A Ryanair spokesperson told The Independent: ​“Since we have already offered local contracts and improved pay there is no justification for further disruption and we are calling on our German pilots to work this Wednesday.”

Ryanair has written to passengers this morning confirming that it will try to operate flights to and from Germany tomorrow. The airline has waived rebooking fees if passengers want to move their flights to Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday instead.

In a statement issued this morning, Ryanair confirmed it had written to its German-based pilots and cabin crew advising them to work as normal tomorrow Wednesday, and urging them to "put its customers first".

Ryanair passengers have suffered months of misery thanks to ongoing strike action. In August, 450 flights were cancelled in a one day strike – affecting an estimated 75,000 passengers – when pilots in Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden staged coordinated walkouts. It was the worst day for strike action in Ryanair’s history.

At the end of August, Ryanair pilots in Ireland settled a dispute over

seniority issues and base transfers throughout the summer. Earlier this summer, they staged five one-day strikes, resulting in dozens of flight cancellations between Ryanair’s home base, Dublin, and UK airports.