Tag: Ryanair

Ryanair loses court challenge to Ireland’s pandemic travel rules – dpa international

Irish tourism destination such as this beach on Achill, an Atlantic coast island, are mostly empty (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN —  Ryanair has endorsed a Friday ruling by Ireland’s High Court that the government’s pandemic-related travel measures are advisory rather than mandatory. Despite losing the case, the said airline it “welcomes” the decision as it “confirms there is no legal requirement for the current travel restrictions.” Backed by Aer Lingus, formerly Ireland’s state carrier, Ryanair sued the government in July over the guidelines, which it claimed were presented as “mandatory” and were imposed without parliamentary oversight. Opining that the measures are neither compulsory nor an abuse of power, Justice Garrett Simons said on Friday that “advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movement on entry to the state is just that: advice.”

Ryanair to cut capacity by 20 per cent, blames pandemic travel rules – dpa international

Bleak midwinter at Dublin Airport (Photo: Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — Ryanair said on Friday that it will slash capacity by 20 per cent in October, blaming coronavirus travel curbs introduced at short notice. The Dublin-based airline said that “EU government travel restrictions and policies” aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus “undermine consumers’ willingness to make forward bookings.” Announcing its second 20 per cent capacity reduction since August, Ryanair accused the Irish government of keeping the country “locked up like North Korea” and of operating “a defective” quarantine system that means arrivals from most countries, some with lower infection rates than Ireland, are expected to self-isolate for 14 days. Supported by Aer Lingus, Ireland’s flag carrier airline, Ryanair has taken the government to court over the curbs, which will not be aligned with EU guidelines until mid-October.

Ryanair to close Frankfurt Hahn hub, considering shutting other German bases – dpa international

Bleak midwinter at Dublin Airport (Photo: Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — Budget airline Ryanair will shutter its base at Frankfurt Hahn Airport and is considering doing the same with Berlin Tegel and at Weeze Airport near the Dutch border, Ryanair division Malta Air said in an internal memo seen by dpa on Tuesday. The move comes after majority of German pilots voted against a proposed deal of savings including paycuts that Ryanair said were required because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the memo, management has decided the airline “must move on to deliver savings in other ways and adjust our German operations to tackle the unsustainable cost base at our German airports.” German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said late Tuesday that as many as 170 pilots could be affected by the decision, adding that negotiations with the airline had not been concluded.