Irish low cost airline Ryanair expects to say goodbye to 3,000 pilots and cabin crew as a result of the corona crisis. Furthermore, the company will challenge some of the decisions on state aid from competitors, amounting to some € 30 billion in aid.
The Ryanair decision is another blow to the airline industry where jobs are rapidly disappearing. British Airways mother IAG previously announced that it would put 12,000 employees on hold. 5000 jobs will disappear at the Scandinavian SAS. KLM announced its departure from 1500 to 2000 professionals.
According to Ryanair, the multi-billion dollar support that has been or is pledged to Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Alitalia and SAS, among other things, is disrupting the market. The emergency packages also hit the financially healthier companies, according to the price fighter who announced that he would be fighting a legal battle. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary labels the aid as doping to keep “bloated and inefficient” competitors in the air.
Ryanair expects a loss of 100 million euros in the first quarter of its broken fiscal year, which runs through March. In the period, the company carried less than 1 percent of the number of passengers who usually check in with the price fighter. The impact of the crisis on the second quarter, which includes the important summer months, will be even more severe. According to the airline, it will certainly take until the summer of 2022 for passenger flows to return to pre-crisis levels.
The restructuring program and thus the job losses will be implemented from July. Personnel allowed to stay should allow for up to a fifth less salary. It is also possible that employees are sent on unpaid leave. The interventions do not only apply to flying personnel. In the office, too, people have to fear for their jobs.
Ryanair expects to temporarily close part of its air bases in Europe until air traffic recovers. The company is also in talks with aircraft maker Boeing to reduce previous orders. Adjustments to contracts are also negotiated with leasing companies. O’Leary will settle for 50 percent less wages through March.