Ryanair shares clawed back some of the ground that they have lost over the last week as the controversy over its decision to cancel 50 flights a day to the end of October dragged on.
The airline offered pilots up to €12,000 to forgo annual leave in an effort to close gaps in rosters that caused flight cancellations that could hit 400,000 passengers.
Its shares closed 1.2 per cent up at €16.94 on Tuesday, paring back losses over the last week by €200 million to €1.26 billion. The company’s total market value at the close of business was €20.1 billion.
Ryanair was worth a total of €21.36 billion at the close on Wednesday September 13th, the day before news broke of a potentially costly European court ruling, the first of two controversies that have since hit its share price.
Dublin market
Investors bought slightly more than three million of the company’s shares on the Dublin market yesterday.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary and his board will face shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday following a torrid week.
Mr O’Leary said the company itself was to blame for a problem with pilots’ leave rosters that led to the flight cancellations.
News of the flight disruptions came shortly after a European Court of Justice ruling that airline crew members can bring industrial relations disputes before the courts in the countries in which they are based.
Analysts have suggested that this could cost the airline €40 million next year and €100 million in 2019.
