RYANAIR has cancelled 150 flights out of 400 to and from Germany today, leaving passengers furious. The cancellations were only made yesterday after cabin crew and pilots went on a last minute strike, leaving customers angry at the lack of notice. 12 Ryanair desks across Germany are shut for the day, like this one at Weeze Airport Credit: AFP 12 A German Ryanair staff member takes to the picket line in Berlin Credit: AFP Passengers have complained that they are struggling to get through to the airline's customer services, with many having to book pricey last minute accommodation as they are stranded. Twitter user Alex Mcleish tweeted: "Can you definitively state that my flight is cancelled? Because the travel update links you provided says it is still running yet I’ve received an email offering to change my flight. What piece of your information is correct?” Twitter user Cathy Walsh wrote: "Flight cancelled. 4.5 hours waiting to talk to someone, yesterday, 1 hour today, Live Chat website crashing. This is ridiculous. I'm so angry about this. "This is disappointing beyond belief. I need a flight! The wait time is NOT 29 mins. SORT THIS OUT.” 12 12 12 12 12 User James Stockdale wrote: “Our flight from Germany to Manchester has been cancelled. We now need accommodation for an additional evening. “Can this be arranged or can we have a guarantee that this will be refunded please as most prices at late notice are €350 per night. Thanks.” Pictures from today show Ryanair staff at Frankfurt email on the picket line as they hold up a sign that reads: "Ryanair, stop squeezing your crew". Other signs being held up to called for a "basic salary for all," while some wore masks with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's face on. Banners put up at Schonefeld Airport in Berlin read: "Ryanair must change." Meanwhile check-in desks at airports such as Weeze in Western Germany were completely shut. 12 A passenger walks past banners that staff have put up at Schonefeld Airport in Berlin Credit: Getty Images - Getty 12 Ryanair staff at Frankfurt Airport have also been on strike Credit: AFP The airline slammed unions yesterday for a "lack of notice" on the strike and apologised to customers for the "unnecessary strike and regrettable disruptions". A spokesman for the airline said it had done "everything in its power" to avoid the strike. A further strike by Ryanair unions representing pilots, cabin crew and ground staff in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Holland is also now expected for September 28. 12 Staff members wear masks with Michael O'Leary's face on during the walkouts Credit: AFP 12 The walkout was announced at the last minute yesterday and passengers have vented their fury Credit: AFP 12 Cabin crew on strike in Berlin pose for a photo during the walkout Credit: @khan_lan Today's walkout has been called by the German unions Vereinigung Cockpit and Verdi Ver.di but was only announced on Monday. Ver.di says it is demanding a substantial increase in pay for cabin crew and is calling on 1,000 staff in Germany at all locations to support the strike on September 12. The union says a second meeting with the airline had been "fruitless" and criticised the current pay structure as "completely out of the question". Ver.di alleges working conditions are "catastrophic" and "extremely poor". "With our demands, we are not even at the level of other low-cost providers," said Ver.di negotiator Mira Neumaier, adding: "A first step would first be secured income." A Ryanair spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "All affected customers received emails and SMS text notices yesterday and were offered a refund, free move on to the next available flight or reroute options." Lads on Ryanair flight cut up lines of white powder - and steward bringing them vodka doesn't bat an eyelid MOST READ IN TRAVEL SEA YOU THERE Seaside B&B beats posh Claridge’s in top hotels list and reveals its secret FERRIED AWAY Brits travelling to France must self-isolate on arrival due to Indian variant ISLE BE BACK Canary, Balearic & Greek islands 'could be on green list if country is amber' PRICED UP How much do Covid tests cost to go on holiday? Airline & airport prices from £20 LIFE'S A BEACH Greece reveals new beach rules as it prepares for the return of Brits SAFE TRAVELS Is it safe to go on holiday abroad? The 4 factors to consider before booking They continued: "Customers who did not receive notices were advised (via our press release and social media) to travel to the airport as scheduled. "We apologise to customers on the 150 of 400 German flights which were cancelled, all of whom have already been refunded or re-accommodated onto another Ryanair flight." Sun Online Travel previously revealed that Ryanair passengers who booked flights before November 1 won't pay Ryanair's new luggage fee.<doc-sep>Ryanair says it will cancel 150 flights out of 400 scheduled to fly to and from Germany on Wednesday due to a 24-hour strike by pilots and cabin crew.<doc-sep>Ryanair has cancelled 150 flights to and from Germany today, due to a pilot and cabin crew walk-out. The budget carrier, Europe’s largest, has 400 scheduled flights to and from German destinations today. Ryanair flies to 16 destinations in Germany, including the major cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin. Earlier this week, German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called on all Ryanair pilots working at German airports to walk out from Wednesday 12 September at 2.01am BST to Thursday 13 September 1.59am BST. Separately, the German cabin crew union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) called for a one-day strike for all cabin crew working on Ryanair flights. Ryanair said that all affected passengers have been contacted by email and text message, and have been offered a refund or a free move to another flight. Passengers who have not been contacted should travel to the airport for their flight as scheduled. In a statement, Ryanair labelled the German strike “a surprise” and “unnecessary”. Both the pilots' union VC and cabin crew union ver.di are pushing for better pay and working conditions. In an interview published this morning in Airliners.de, VC vice president Markus Wahl said that “further strikes are possible” if a deal cannot be reached. Ryanair passengers have suffered months of misery thanks to ongoing strike action. In August, 450 flights were cancelled in a one day strike – affecting an estimated 75,000 passengers – when pilots in Germany, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden staged coordinated walkouts. It was the worst day for strike action in Ryanair’s history. At the end of August, Ryanair pilots in Ireland settled a dispute over seniority issues and base transfers throughout the summer. Earlier this summer, they staged five one-day strikes, resulting in dozens of flight cancellations between Ryanair’s home base, Dublin, and UK airports.<doc-sep>Ryanair has apologised to customers affected by the cancellation of 150 flights in and out of Germany due to a strike by pilots and cabin crew. The airline stressed that 252 of the remaining 254 scheduled flights to and from Germany operated as normal, thanks to staff who had "ignored union strikes". Ryanair noted that despite the strike, it would today operate over 2,200 flights carrying more than 380,000 passengers, with a load factor of 92%. The 24-hour strike by pilots and cabin crew based in Germany was announced on Monday night, and commenced early this morning. The airline said all affected customers had been refunded or re-accommodated. Ryanair recently reached agreement with pilots in Ireland following 5 days of strike action during hte peak summer period. However, cabin crew unions in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have threatened to stage a co-ordinated strike later this month if the airline does not change its business model. It is understood they will announce details of planned industrial action tomorrow. Meanwhile, in an unusual move, Ryanair has banned all media from its Annual General Meeting which is due to take place next Thursday. Germany's Cockpit pilots' federation and the Verdi service workers' union called the 24-hour strike, which started at 3am local time, after they said talks with Ryanair management were deadlocked. Ryanair has been clashing with worker representatives ever since it took the unprecedented step last year to start recognising trade unions in a bid to avert widespread Christmas strikes. Last month, Ryanair pilots in five European countries including Germany held their first-ever simultaneous walkout, causing some 400 flight cancellations and travel chaos for 55,000 passengers. Ryanair has however made some progress in clinching collective labour agreements since then. It managed to strike a deal with Italian pilots over working conditions in late August, its first-ever union agreement. Its Irish-based pilots voted to accept an agreement on improved working conditions last week. That prompted Ryanair to back down from an earlier threat to move several aircraft and 300 jobs from Ireland to Poland. Germany's Cockpit and Verdi unions, which represent some 400 Germany-based Ryanair pilots and 1,000 flight personnel, condemned the airline's attempt to squeeze them with a similar threat. "This is how Ryanair deals with its employees: putting pressure on them, scaring them and threatening job losses," said Cockpit's vice president Markus Wahl. Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said yesterday that further strikes would damage Ryanair's business in Germany and "lead to base cuts and job cuts". "We are not making a threat," he told a Frankfurt press conference. "If you have ongoing strikes, that's the economic impact." The airline boasts lower costs per passenger than its competitors and is eyeing profits of around €1.25bn this year. But staff have long complained that they earn less than counterparts at rival airlines. Another key gripe of workers based in countries other than Ireland is the fact that Ryanair employs them under Irish legislation. They say this creates huge insecurity for them, blocking their access to state benefits in their country. Unions also want the airline to give contractors the same work conditions as staff employees. Ryanair counters that it has already offered significant pay increases and steadier contracts. It said German pilots can make "up to €190,000 a year". But Cockpit's Markus Wahl said that only applies to "a handful" of people. The basic starting salary for Ryanair pilots is closer to €39,000 a year, he said, while the most experienced pilots can take home around €110,000 a year in fixed pay. That can then be topped up depending on flight hours. Mr Wahl said pilots were fighting for more pay overall, and specifically a higher fixed-rate salary. The Verdi union said Ryanair cabin crew earn a basic gross salary of €800 to €1,200 a month on average, far below what rival EasyJet pays. "The wages are so low that they are insufficient to ensure a decent living standard," Verdi board member Christine Behle said. Additional reporting: AFP<doc-sep>
BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Pilots and cabin crew at Ryanair RYA.I in Germany staged a full-day walkout on Wednesday and threatened further strikes as management at Europe's largest low-cost carrier struggled to rein in an industrial relations revolt. The strike came a day before unions representing cabin crew in five countries - including No. 2 and 3 markets Italy and Spain - were due to announce whether to hold a joint strike later this month. Chief Executive Michael O’Leary was defiant, telling a press briefing in London that he was willing to accept strikes if that was the cost of defending the airline’s low-cost business model. “We will not roll over every time we’re threatened with strikes,” he said. “We do not want strikes but we are willing to accept strikes, put up with them, if it means defending our cost base.” He said strikes were having a minimal impact on overall operations and that full-year profit guidance was unchanged as it had already included some of the impact of the stoppages. Shares in Ryanair reversed earlier modest losses to trade 0.8 percent up by 1435 GMT. The Ireland-based airline said it canceled 150 out of a total 400 flights scheduled to fly to and from Germany on Wednesday due to the strike and warned that such “wildcat” strikes would lead to job cuts if they continued. The airline, which flies around 2,500 flights each day, said all passengers had been refunded or switched to other flights. “As long as Ryanair does not make improved offers, there may have to be further strikes here,” said Ingolf Schumacher, a negotiator for German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC). While both sides have agreed to employ a mediator, they have not agreed on who this should be. Ryanair has also come under fire for its practice of employing some pilots via third-party agencies, though it said all pilots will be directly employed by the end of the year. “SQUEEZING CREW” Ryanair said its latest offer to Germany’s VC addressed all of the union’s demands and called the walkouts unreasonable. In July it said it would move 20 percent of its Dublin-based fleet to Poland due in part to the damage strike action was doing to bookings but reversed the decision last Friday. Slideshow ( 5 images ) German services union Verdi, which represents cabin crew, is seeking a substantial pay increase as well as local contracts for its members. It said management had, however, offered local contracts only from 2022. At Germany’s biggest airport in Frankfurt, union members carried banners through a terminal, saying “Ryanair stop squeezing your crew.” O’Leary did concede that the strikes had damaged customer confidence. Slideshow ( 5 images ) “Our fares are undoubtedly a percentage point or two lower than they would otherwise be this summer,” he said. The airline decided to recognize unions last December after a 30-year period in an attempt to improve relations with its pilots and ease a staffing crunch. But failure to reach agreement with staff on conditions led to its worst ever strikes this summer. Ryanair secured a breakthrough in August when it reached a deal with Irish pilots. But last week, seven trade unions representing Ryanair cabin crew in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands threatened to hold a strike in late September unless the airline agrees to improve working conditions. O’Leary said that the airline was making progress with unions in Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands. Local contracts remained a sticking point, he said, explaining that Ryanair’s hands were tied by Irish legislation on that matter. He said Ryanair was hopeful that the Irish government would change the rules.