Ryanair is pressing ahead with plans to move its one Copenhagen-based aircraft to Kaunas in Lithuania after failing to reach an agreement with Danish unions.
Its aircraft, pilots and cabin crew jobs will now be moved to Kaunas in Lithuania where the aircraft will continue to fly to/from Copenhagen, but without any Danish Collective Agreement.
Since Ryanair no longer has a base in Copenhagen, the sympathy strikes threatened by the Danish Unions cannot now take place.
Ryanair’s chief people officer Eddie Wilson said: "This is a black day for the Danish economy. Here you have Danish Unions who admit they don’t have any members in Ryanair, destroying highly paid jobs for Danish pilots and cabin crew here in Copenhagen with the sole effect that those jobs now get exported overseas yet the fights to/from Copenhagen, the low fares and the competition with SAS will continue."
John Dybart of the Danish Unions had earlier claimed Ryanair was bluffing when it threatened to move its base.
"Perhaps now he will realise that the Danish economy and the Danish Unions cannot succeed by forcing Danish jobs overseas," said Wilson.
"Perhaps Mr Dybart will now call for the Danish offices of Google, Microsoft, Facebook and other non-Union companies in Denmark to be closed since their employees, like Ryanair and other multinationals, don’t recognise Danish Unions either."
Ryanair said it will continue to grow in Copenhagen airport but all of these flights will now take place on aircraft based outside of Denmark.
