Low cost carrier, Ryanair has insisted that a ruling by the European Court of Justice will not change the current status of employment contracts for thousands of its staff.
The Luxembourg based ECJ said on Thursday that the airline was wrong to force cabin crew based outside Ireland to take their disputes with the company to Irish courts.
Despite losing the case, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary remained defiant following the decision.
“Ultimately, they cannot and will not be changing the Irish contracts or the structure of the Irish contracts. So it’s not going to make any change whatsoever,” O’Leary said.
The case involved Ryanair crew based at Charleroi Airport in Belgium.
Shares in the carrier slumped, before rallying slightly, after the court said six ex-employees based in Belgium could access courts there. The former cabin crew are seeking thousands of euros in compensation claiming they still have not been paid travel expenses or severance pay.
Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet have bases all over Europe, including in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, where both planes and crews are stationed.
This means crews can return to their home base each night, allowing the airlines to avoid costs involved with overnight rest stops.
