Ryanair agrees long-term pay deal with UK pilots

Ryanair today welcomed the outcome of a ballot on post-Covid pay restoration for its UK pilots.

The deal agreed with pilots’ union Balpa will accelerate pay restoration and deliver pay increases post-restoration to 2026, according to the budget airline giant.

Ryanair plans to grow to 115% of its pre-Covid capacity and is prioritising the early restoration of pay for through re-negotiated agreements to keep jobs secure and to have a foundation for growth.

The new accelerated deal also provides for pay enhancements and other benefits beyond full restoration of pay for Ryanair’s UK pilots until 2026, according to the carrier.

Ryanair people director Darrell Hughes said: “We welcome the outcome of this ballot of our UK pilots which has shown strong support for the agreement negotiated with Balpa.

“While the recovery from the impact of the pandemic is still ongoing and our industry faces significant challenges, this long-term agreement delivers stability, accelerated pay restoration, future pay increases and other benefit improvements for our UK pilots.

“While 100% of our pilots across our European network are covered by 2020 emergency agreements, we continue to work with our pilots and their unions on new deals, similar to this one concluded with Balpa, and have successfully re-negotiated improved long-term agreements with 70% of our pilots, running until 2026 or 2027 as we prioritise pay restoration.”