Thirty Ryanair flights scheduled to leave Ireland on Thursday will be cancelled by the airline due to planned strike action by Dublin-based pilots. Only flights on "high frequency" routes between Ireland and the UK will be affected.
Before the announcement was made, Irish Times readers due to fly with the airline on Thursday shared their plans for holidays, weddings, family visits and student presentations have been thrown into disarray by the uncertainty.
Helen Slattery: ‘We have never taken them abroad’
Here I am looking at my three kids, after a year of saving hard, still not knowing if our fight will go on Thursday from Cork. My autistic son hasn’t slept since last week worrying we won’t get to go on our holiday. We have never taken them abroad, and it took a year of planning to get everything in place so my son could enjoy it too. I’m sick with worry. My husband and I are keeping a brave face on, but we have no choice but to wait, as we have no more money to change fights.
Baiba Kalnina: ‘We are getting married in Latvia’
We are getting married on July 14th in Latvia. My fiancée is due to fly from Dublin to Riga on Thursday 12th. We are desperate and at loss what to do... Flights cost fortune to re-book. I will avoid Ryanair in future at all costs.
Paride Peritore: ‘I must be in Italy for my final project presentation’
I’m an Italian student. I should be flying to Milano Bergamo on the morning of Thursday 12th. I must be in Italy on Monday 16th for the presentation of my final project that I prepared in collaboration with DIT since September. I didn’t book another flight, and I’m really worried.
Stephen Hyland: ‘I was due to fly to Malaga with 20 friends for my stag’
I was due to fly to Malaga with 20 friends for my stag do this Thursday morning with Ryanair, returning on Sunday. Now with this incredibly frustrating strike action we had to make the difficult decision of waiting to see what happens, which will be less than 48 hours before our flight is due to depart, or put our hands into our pockets again and book another flight. We decided to book a late Wednesday evening flight, with Aer Lingus rather than Ryanair, as we weren't going to give them any more money. This meant some of the lads had to re-juggle work and family life, knowing they were now going a day earlier than planned at such very short notice. We had to then request an additional night's accommodation, and re-arrange transport from the airport. All of this unnecessary hassle has come at a huge cost to us.
Inta Laucina: ‘I have no alternatives’
I am going home for a week to see my family in Latvia and it’s a very special time for me. I have no other alternatives to fly to Riga from Dublin.
Maria Backman: ‘There will be no compensation for the festival tickets’
We have a flight booked on Thursday to go to a festival in Spain. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to a long time, and we are now likely to miss out on the first day of the festival at least, if not the entire thing, and there will be no compensation for the expensive festival tickets. I’m expecting tomorrow to be a nightmare trying to get through to a Ryanair customer service number and re-arrange everything flights and accommodation to cat sitters. But I still support the pilots’ right to strike, they’ve a right to decent to working conditions same as anybody. Ryanair has a reputation as a company that treats both its employees and customers poorly. I’ll really be thinking hard and long before I book Ryanair again.
Derek O’Donohoe: ‘We booked with an online package company’
My girlfriend and I are due to travel to Tenerife on Thursday. We booked with an online package company. Even if we receive news that our flight is cancelled and we are due a refund, we will have to wait for Ryanair to refund the tour company and in turn refund us thereafter, which will obviously take longer than the two days before we are due to depart. So we must consider spending the vast majority of our “spending money”’ to book flights with an alternative carrier, as we cannot get a refund for the accommodation. I will consider alternative carriers for future bookings.
Paul Tennyson: ‘Ryanair haven’t even been in touch with us’
We have a flight booked on Thursday the 12th for fly to Leeds for a wedding. We had a car plus hotel booked, and had arranged for my girlfriend’s mother to take to care of our four-month-old for the night. Apart from most likely losing the full fee for both the car and the hotel, the worst thing about it is that Ryanair haven’t even been in touch with us. We’ve been relying on the media to keep us informed. We have had trouble with Ryanair in the past, but this has to be the worst experience we have had. Booking a supposedly “cheap flight” has ended up costing us hundreds of euro. I’d never fly with them ever again.
Eric Maitland: ‘We fully support the pilots’
We are a family of five due to return from Spain on Thursday. There is little info on whether in bound flights will be affected. We fully support the pilots and what they feel is necessary to get management to treat them properly. We can put up with a bit of turbulence for them for a change. Support your pilots! Support your unions!
Claire Callan: ‘I am getting married in London on Saturday’
I am getting married in London on Saturday. My parents and my aunt are booked on Thursday morning’s 8.20am from Dublin to Stansted. I’m really hoping Ryanair can re-book them all onto a flight that gets them here in time for them to be rested and ready for the big day. It is stressful waiting and wondering. It’s an 18-hour journey from Dublin to London on the ferry.
Alexander McGill: ‘I’m trying not to worry’
I have flights booked for Thursday from Dublin to Nice for a few weeks of a holiday. Given it’s only a certain number of pilots planning to strike rather than an all out strike, and the fact that there are a number of other carriers flying the same route, I’m hopeful we won’t be left grounded, at least not for too long. It will be quite an inconvenience if it does go ahead, especially given how busy the skies are at this time of year, but it’s just a matter of playing it by ear and trying not to be too worried at this stage.
Ron Giesbers: ‘Morale is low in our household’
We are supposed to fly to Girona in Spain this Thursday. The booking was done in January. We are travel with two young children. We booked a caravan and rental car, and have a hotel booked for the last night. Financially, we have a big loss if the strike continuous. All deposits will be gone. We do have holiday insurance, but don’t know how much they will cover. Morale is at its lowest in the Giesbers household.
Steve Perring: ‘The cheap fares aren’t worth it’
I have a flight booked for Thursday from Shannon to Bristol to travel home and see my family. I’ve just cancelled my car hire booking rather than risk losing the €140 if my flight doesn’t go ahead as scheduled. Ryanair care more about their share price and profit margin than their staff or customers. I wouldn’t book with Ryanair again; I’d rather pay extra and fly with another airline. When you’re made to feel like nothing more than a walking piggy bank every time you engage with them, the cheap fares just aren’t worth it.
Louise Fox: ‘I am distraught today’
I was due to fly to Faro on Monday and return Thursday 12th. I couldn’t fly out in case I was left stranded; I absolutely have to be home Thursday, I have no room for error. I really needed that holiday. I have gone through a lot of trauma recently, and was travelling alone to mark a monumental occasion in my life. I am distraught today as a result of this strike.
Richard Talbot: ‘Everything is in limbo’
I’m supposed be flying to Porto on Thurs afternoon for a weekend break until Sunday morning. A Portuguese friend is supposed to join me by taking the train from Lisbon. Everything is in limbo until the announcement by Ryanair. Even if I’m put onto the Friday afternoon flight at same time, I would likely be out of pocket for first night’s accommodation, and our time in Porto is cut short to two nights and only one full day. I’m worried about another weekend break to visit friends in Brussels in six weeks’ time, with news of planned Ryanair strikes in other European countries.
Sean Kearney: ‘We have paid for an Airbnb and festival’
I’m booked to fly to Dublin on the 12th with a group of mates to go to Longitude music festival. We have paid for an Airbnb and the festival itself, neither of which were cheap.
This article was edited on Tuesday afternoon.
