Ryanair has revealed it will not alter plans to close its base in the Netherlands. This is despite a court order blocking the company from relocating crew against their will.
Last month, the company announced that it will be closing its Eindhoven base in November. As a result, 16 pilots operating flights from the airport will be relocated in order to reduce costs. Consequently, a court order ruled that Ryanair had abused its powers as an employer. Additionally, the court stated that the company had not provided an adequate explanation as to why the move was needed.
The court said:
“Under the given circumstances, Ryanair had no right to decide to shut down the base in Eindhoven.”
However, Ryanair has announced that it will not be changing its plans to relocate crew:
“All pilots and cabin crew have already been offered base transfers.”
“But if any crew members wish to choose redundancies over base transfers then we will respect that choice.”
The Dutch court has ordered that Ryanair must ensure all pilots could continue to fly to and from Eindhoven whilst they remain based in the city.
Furthermore, it ruled that the company must continue to pay the pilots their full wages.
In July, the company gave a 90-day notice to over 300 pilots and cabin crew members in Dublin. It has also announced the anticipated closure of two crew bases in Germany.
It has been reported that the carrier has attempted to limit the power of staff unions by claiming to close bases and relocate staff. Since August, two staged walkouts have taken place in Portugal, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In addition to the closure, the low-budget flyer has also announced another change to its baggage policy.
At 14:33 GMT today, shares in Ryanair Holdings plc (LON:RYA) were trading at +3.21%.
