Ryanair practices called into question
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An episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches programme has claimed that Ryanair’s fuel policy is dangerous and that black box recordings had been erased after serious incidents.
The airline has responded to the claims by saying that the reports are “inaccurate” and a survey quoted in the programme was “fabricated by the European Cockpit Association which is the pilot trade union club for Ryanair’s competitor airlines”.
The survey – which had reportedly been sampled from the Ryanair Pilots Group (RPG)– said that 88.8% of the company’s pilots believe Ryanair doesn’t have an open and transparent safety culture, 67.4% don’t feel comfortable raising safety concerns through internal safety recording methods and 87.5% aren’t satisfied that the company gives relevant safety feedback.
British newspaper the Daily Telegraph quoted the airline’s rebuttal, which pointed that Evert Van Zwol – quoted as chairman of the RPG’s interim council – was in fact a serving KLM pilot and recent president of the Dutch pilot union.
A spokesman for the airline said: “The non-Ryanair Pilot Group is quite clearly a PR front for pilot trade unions of Ryanair’s competitor airlines.
“A so called ‘survey’ fabricated by these ECA pilot unions, which does not have access to or contact with the entire 3,000-plus pilots employed by Ryanair, lacks any independence, objectivity or reliability.
“It is another failed attempt by ECA pilot unions to use non-existent safety ‘concerns’ to advance their 25 year failed campaign to win union recognition in Ryanair.
“Both Ryanair and the Irish Aviation Authority operate confidential safety reporting systems which allow any Ryanair pilot with any legitimate safety concerns to report these in complete confidentiality – without any fear of reprisal – either through Ryanair’s confidential system or the IAA’s independent and confidential system.
“Ryanair’s outstanding 29-year safety record is a matter of rigorous oversight and fact-based evidence.
“It is not something that can be voted on or subjected to anonymous or fabricated trade union surveys. It has been rigorously regulated and independently verified by the Irish Aviation Authority, operating to the highest EU safety requirements – and the IAA have recently confirmed that “Ryanair’s safety is on a par with the safest airlines in Europe.”
The reported survey has been published by Dispatches here.
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