Ryanair welcomes UK union approval of post-COVID pay deal

Ryanair’s UK pilots have approved a deal on restoring pay to pre-pandemic levels, the low-cost carrier has announced.

The Irish airline said that the deal, which was negotiated with UK pilots’ union BALPA, covers the restoration of pay and will also deliver pay increases in the period to 2026.

“While the recovery from the impact of the pandemic is still ongoing and our industry faces significant challenges, this long-term agreement delivers stability, accelerated pay restoration, future pay increases and other benefit improvements for our UK pilots,” People Director Darrell Hughes, said in a statement on June 30, 2022.

Ryanair has sprung back faster than other European carriers from the pandemic and expects to operate 115% of pre-COVID capacity this year. It said it is prioritizing restoring pay for its staff to “keep jobs secure and have a foundation for growth”.

During the pandemic, Ryanair chose to keep staff on but at lower pay levels. Hughes said the airline was working with pilots and unions across Europe on new deals to restore pay.

“While 100% of our pilots across our European network are covered by 2020 Emergency Agreements, we continue to work with our pilots and their unions on new deals, similar to this one concluded with BALPA, and have successfully re-negotiated improved long-term agreements with 70% of our pilots, running until 2026 or 2027 as we prioritise pay restoration,” Hughes concluded.