Ryanair applies for court order to block planned pilot strike

By  Trend

Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, has applied for a court order to block a strike planned by its Ireland-based pilots later this month, local media reported on Friday, Trendreports citing Xinhua.

A hearing about the application will be held at the High Court in the morning of next Monday, said RTE, a semi state-owned media in Ireland, on its website.

In a recent ballot, about 94 percent of an estimated 180 Ireland-based pilots directly employed by Ryanair voted in favor of a 48-hour strike starting from midnight on August 22 due to disputes over pay and work conditions, according to the report.

Earlier this week, Forsa, a parent trade union of Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) of which Ryanair's Ireland-based pilots are members, served a notice to Ryanair about the planned strike on behalf of IALPA.

Ryanair accused Forsa of deliberately sabotaging the mediation talks going on between the airline and its Ireland-based pilots, saying that the planned strike is in breach of an agreement reached between the two parties.

Last year, Ryanair faced a massive strike by its pilots, crews and ground personnel across Europe, which resulted in cancellations of thousands of scheduled flights.