Investors in Ryanair took flight after it emerged some of its Dublin-based pilots had voted in favour of industrial action.

The company’s shares dropped nearly 4pc after the Irish Air Line Pilots Association voted overwhelmingly in favour of action against the carrier, albeit only pilots the company directly employs rather than the large number it hires through agencies.

The ballot was carried out by the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union (IMPACT), of which IALPA is a branch. IMPACT said 84 ballot papers were issued and that of the 83 returned, 79 voted in favour of industrial action and three against. One ballot was spoilt.

This ballot comes just days after Ryanair’s former operations chief Peter Bellew returned to his role at the company after a two-year spell away from 2015 at Malaysia Airlines, including as its chief executive.

Mr Bellew returned to help Ryanair overcome the turbulence caused by its pilot rostering error which subsequently led the budget airline to cancel 18,000 flights this winter.

This ballot is the latest fallout from the rostering debacle. While the number of ballots appears small, most of the directly-employed pilots are understood to be captains, a rank which must be present on a plane if it is to fly.

The issue in Dublin has flared up because the company’s pilots want to negotiate terms via the collective European Employee Representative Council – which encompasses staff at all bases – rather than each of the company’s 87 bases agreeing terms separately. Pilots in Italy and Portugal have also voted in favour of industrial action.

Ryanair said it had received no notification of any industrial action by its Dublin pilots, dismissing it as “more PR activity” by IALPA.

It added now the airline’s Cork, Shannon and Belfast bases had agreed a 20pc pay rise, it expected the Dublin pilots would soon accept this deal too.

But it warned that any Ryanair pilots engaging in industrial action would lose their “favourable rosters” which are made up of five days on and four days off, as well as remuneration benefits linked to working directly for the carrier.

IMPACT said it would meet on December 12 to discuss the outcome of the ballot.

Source: AFP