Irish low cost carrier unveils plans to greatly scale-back its operations in Germany, as Vereinigung Cocpit (VC), German pilots association, rejects “productivity-enhancing measures” that include furloughs and pay cuts.

The measures were aimed at employees working for Malta Air – Ryanair’s subsidiary employing German pilots. According to VC’s strongly-worded press release, nearly 88% of the pilots working for the company rejected a “strange” proposal that would be “of no benefit to them” and has the “potential to harm the entire pilot community throughout Germany”. 

VC also blamed Ryanair for refusing to negotiate, to which the company responded with a statement that its base at Frankfurt Hahn Airport is to be closed, possibly followed by bases at Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf Airports. 

“We must move on with alternative measures to deliver savings, which regrettably will mean base closures and dismissals,” Ryanair stated in a memo to the pilots, obtained by Reuters. 

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