Ryanair Flight Blocked By Protesters In Copenhagen Over Workers’ Conditions
Workers’ conditions tend to vary from country to country, but Ryanair insists on enforcing Irish terms worldwide, which doesn’t go down well with Danish workers. Sixty employees were involved as a Ryanair flight was blocked from refueling and taking off on Wednesday on what was the airline’s first flight from the Danish capital.
After another recent controversy in Spain, where the Inquisitr reported Ryanair refused boarding to a 10-year-old child who urgently needed to travel to Madrid for a double transplant, the airline has hit the news yet again.
Doesn’t look like this first ever @Ryanair flight to #Copenhagen is going anywhere! #Strike #travel pic.twitter.com/mEnTVkhA4V
— Anne Seeberg (@AnneSeeberg) March 18, 2015
Workers for Ryanair in Copenhagen want to be treated under the far more generous Danish employment laws and they decided to make it known, while Ryanair insists on enforcing its normal Irish terms. They surrounded the RYA.I flight from Copenhagen to Dublin on Wednesday, delaying its departure by three hours.
According to the Daily Mail, protesters wore tape over their mouths and held signs reading, “Ryanair colleagues, break the silence, we have freedom to talk about our jobs,” as the Ryanair flight was blocked from leaving.
Police called as Copenhagen protest grounds Ryanair plane http://t.co/L6x8XROkY2 pic.twitter.com/unUOWpNySa
— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) March 18, 2015
According to Copenhagen Airport spokesman Soeren Nielson, as the Ryanair flight was blocked from leaving, the pilot asked officials at the airport to call the police.
“We requested the police assistance on behalf of the Ryanair pilot … because there was a breach of safety rules and regulations.”
“We were in constant dialogue [with the pilot] throughout the three hours that the aircraft was here at the airport.”
Reuters reports that the protest has been bubbling up since the budget airline announced new Copenhagen routes in October. These include Dublin, London, Milan and Warsaw, and all routes are operated under the Irish employment terms. However trade unions insist that workers should be covered by the more generous Danish employment rules, which are among the best in Europe.
Protest blocks Ryanair’s first flight from Copenhagen – http://t.co/H8DEBzAaKK
— Info Eire (@InfoEire) March 19, 2015
The Ryanair pilot was forced to call the police to sort out the situation. However, the protesters continued to wave Danish flags, blocking passengers from boarding the flight and refused to let the Boeing 737 depart.
Police officials allowed the group to continue its protest, while asking them to leave and resolve the problem in a different way. According to Deputy police inspector James Keiwe at the time, the protesters were going to think about it.
After the incident, Ryanair called on Danish authorities in a statement “to take all necessary action to prevent any repeat of this unlawful blockade.” The company insisted the protest was carried out by “non-Ryanair individuals.” They added that – despite the protests, and the fact that the Ryanair flight was blocked on Wednesday – the company will go ahead with opening its new Copenhagen base next week.
[Image: CC by-SA 2.5 Raboe001]
