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Allied Pilots Association: “We Stand in Solidarity” With Striking Ryanair Pilots

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 18, 2019) – The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, expressed strong support for Ryanair pilots, who began staging a series of one-day strikes today in Spain and the United Kingdom.

“Ryanair management is notoriously anti-union, and that intransigence is responsible for the mess their passengers now find themselves in,” said APA President Capt. Eric Ferguson. “The pilots of Ryanair have been compelled to strike as a last resort.”

Prior to the Ryanair pilots’ successful union organizing efforts, longtime top executive Michael O’Leary had been widely quoted as saying that “hell would freeze over” before the carrier recognized unions on its property.

British Airline Pilots’ Association members who fly for Ryanair are scheduled to strike Sept. 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, and 29. Meanwhile, Ryanair pilots represented by the Spanish Union of Airline Pilots are set to strike Sept. 19, 20, 22, 27, and 29.

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow professional pilots at Ryanair and urge that carrier’s management to commit to bargaining in good faith,” Ferguson said. “Otherwise, it will be the airline’s customers who will continue paying the steepest price.”

Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association — the largest independent pilots union in the United States — is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s website is AlliedPilots.org.