German pilots at Ryanair have called for a four-hour strike on Friday that is set to be the first by pilots in the company's history after the Vereinigung Cockpit union said it was unhappy with the Irish airline's approach to talks.
The strike comes less than a week after Ryanair shocked investors by saying it would recognise unions for the first time in its 32-year history in a bid to avert coordinated strikes across Europe over the Christmas period.
The walkout in Germany, described as a "warning strike", will take place from 0401 GMT to 0759 GMT and will affect flights from all German airports, VC said in a statement.
Around 16 Ryanair flights are due to depart from Germany in that time. Ryanair said it had written to pilots to ask them to work as normal.
"We advise all customers in Germany to turn up as normal tomorrow, as we plan to operate all scheduled flights," Ryanair spokesman Robin Kiely said in a statement. "We will be doing our utmost to minimise any disruptions to the Christmas travel plans of our German customers."
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Despite Ryanair's offer to talk with unions, VC said Ryanair had refused to accept two members of a delegation that the union...
