Ryanair dismisses pilots’ survey’s claims of lack of safety

Low-fares giant Ryanair has dismissed reports in the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph, which carried claims from a survey of Ryanair pilots who expressed concerns about the low-cost carrier's safety culture.

Ryanair said in a statement today said that it had an "unblemished 29-year safety record".

The survey was commissioned by the Ryanair Pilot Group, which is seeking to have the airline's pilots represented by trade unions in negotiations on pay and working conditions. It contacted more than 1,000 captains and first officers at Ryanair - more than one-third of the total number of pilots at the company.

The survey was prompted by a warning in April by Ray Conway, Ryanair's chief pilot and a senior manager, that any pilot signing a petition - organised by the Ryanair Pilot Group to call on regulators to evaluate whether the company's employment model had an impact on the safety of flight operations - would be liable for dismissal.

Of those participating in the survey, 89 per cent said that, following this memo, they did not consider that Ryanair had an open and transparent safety culture. The survey found that 67 per cent did not feel comfortable raising safety issues through Ryanair's internal reporting system.

It also found 94 per cent believed regulators should conduct an inquiry into the impact of Ryanair's employment practices on safety.

In a statement, Ryanair pointed out the Ryanair Pilot Group is "a non-Ryanair Pilot Group (NRPG), as it is a PR front for the European Cockpit Association, which is the group representing pilot trade unions of Ryanair's competitor airlines."

Evert van Zwol, chairman of the Ryanair Pilot Group's interim council, said he had a "strong suspicion" that the airline's employment practices may be affecting flight safety, but had no proof, which explained why an inquiry was warranted by regulators.

He added thata majority of Ryanair's pilots were not employed directly but instead hired through agencies, and expressed concerns about their terms and conditions, saying many have so-called zero-hours contracts where there are no guaranteed working hours.

On its part, Ryanair also said that Van Zwol was a serving KLM pilot and recent president of the Dutch Pilot Union.  "Ryanair finds it strange that the Financial Times and others attribute quotes about Ryanair's safety to this individual without pointing out, in the interest of balance and accuracy, that he is not a Ryanair pilot." 

Ryanair said the survey was "fabricated" by the European Cockpit Association (ECA) which is the pilot trade union club for Ryanair's competitor airlines. "Another member of the NRPG Interim Council is Ted Murphy, a lifelong Aer Lingus pilot, former chairman of the Aer Lingus pilots union IALPA, and a two-term president of IFALPA, the international pilots union."

Ryanair's head of communications Robin Kiely said the non-Ryanair Pilot Group  had carried out the survey without any contact to the airline's entire 3,000 plus pilot. "[The survey] lacks any independence, objectivity or reliability. It is another failed attempt by ECA pilot unions to use non-existent safety 'concerns' to advance their 25 year failed campaign to win union recognition in Ryanair.

"Both Ryanair and the Irish Aviation Authority operate confidential safety reporting systems which allow any Ryanair pilot with any legitimate safety concerns to report these in complete confidentiality - without any fear of reprisal - either through Ryanair's confidential system or the IAA's independent and confidential system."

Kiely added that Ryanair's 29-year safety record was a matter of rigorous oversight and fact-based evidence. "It is not something that can be voted on or subjected to anonymous or fabricated trade union surveys. It has been rigorously regulated and independently verified by the Irish Aviation Authority, operating to the highest EU safety requirements - and the IAA have recently confirmed that Ryanair's safety is on a par with the safest airlines in Europe."