In the communication sent to “all Lisbon pilots”, to which Lusa had access, the Ryanair operations director began by saying that he “regrets to inform that [the airport] Lisbon has a significant surplus of pilots that has to be reduced this winter”.


“We sincerely hope that the surplus in Lisbon can be resolved with transfers to other bases or with voluntary unpaid leave. This way we could avoid losing jobs this winter,” the document dated 24 September said along with two tables detailing availability of pilots at other airports and other airlines in the group.


In this context, the Irish ‘low cost’ company said that it is encouraging pilots to apply for an unpaid leave during the winter, or up to one year, or to transfer to other bases or to the Buzz and Laudamotion companies, both of which belong to the Ryanair group.


Ryanair added that ‘with the collapse of British operator Thomas Cook, 9,000 jobs will be lost in the UK and potentially some 13,000 jobs across Europe’, expressing the hope that ‘there will be sufficient applications for part-time leave, so that there will be no job losses in Lisbon this winter’.