As the representative body for Pilots in Ryanair in The Netherlands , we wish to provide the following statement on behalf of the pilots represented by the Dutch ALPA.

"This statement is issued on behalf of pilots in Ryanair – a loyal group of workers who built the company to date and is essential to Ryanair’s ongoing success.  As Ryanair’s shareholders gather to exercise their annual governance of the company they own, we feel compelled to raise an issue of paramount concern.

The relationship between Ryanair management and its employees has become utterly dysfunctional, and this is now putting at risk the continued success of the company. Regardless of claims of union recognition and improving employee relations, the approach epitomised under Michael O’Leary’s leadership over more than 20 years is unchanged. Management appears unable to talk to its own employees in good faith. Their actions to date are perceived by us as being frequently intimidating and antagonistic. It is also seen as generating operational disruption and industrial unrest rather than creating a positive and cohesive working environment for the future.

As professional pilots, critical to the future and fortunes of our airline, we have lost all confidence in the general ability to guide and manage the airline. This failure of leadership and management is compounded by an apparent lack of oversight from the Board, from its Chairman and from non-executive directors, which has allowed the current negative situation and ongoing uncertainty to grow.

Ryanair needs competent leaders who are focused on a clear and different future rather than on pursuing a failed employment model that resulted in the collapse of our operations in September 2017. While pilots support the successful business model of Ryanair, there is no doubt that the current employment model has fundamentally failed. There is an urgent need for a management team that is able to adapt to the future needs of the company, properly engage with its employees, and ensure it can be a sustainable and profitable business for the future. If this opportunity is missed, it is difficult to envisage industrial peace under the out-of-date management style employed to date, and both the employees and the shareholders of Ryanair will pay an unnecessary price for such failure for many years to come."