Ryanair has once again called for the EU Commission to remove the ‘right to strike’ from essential services such as ATC and to reform the EU261 passenger rights legislation “which has again been shown to be unfit for purpose during recent ATC strikes in Belgium, France and Spain”. 

Ryanair reports that so far in 2010, the airline has been forced to cancel 2,500 flights and delay over 13,000 flights, disrupting over 2.5 million passengers, as a direct result of Belgian, French and Spanish ATC strikes and work to rules. "Under EU261 regulations airlines suffer the costs of these disruptions without any recourse against those unions calling strikes or the EU governments who own the ATCs and repeatedly allow European airspace to be closed". 

Back in September, Ryanair called for the EU to follow the example shown by Ronald Reagan in the early 1980’s when he fired and replaced U.S. Air Traffic Controllers after they went on strike. Ryanair has now called on the EU Commission to reform ATC services as follows: 

1. Remove the “right to strike” for essential services such as ATCs.

2. Sack any ATC staff who participate in illegal strikes (as Ronald Reagan sacked and replaced striking ATC staff in the US in the 1980’s).

3. Deregulate Europe’s national ATC services to allow non striking ATC’s to keep the skies over Belgium, France and Spain open, while their overpaid, underworked ATCs go on strike again and again.

4. Reform the EU261 passenger rights legislation to relieve airlines of ‘right to care’ obligations in such force majeure cases which are clearly outside of airlines’ control.