In France and Spain, low-cost airline Ryanair and its Maltese subsidiary Malta Air have reached agreements with pilots' unions. Among other things, wage increases were agreed. The term of the collective agreements is five years.

The compromises were reached almost at the last second, as both the Spanish and French pilots in the group would otherwise have joined a strike by Belgian pilots announced for the weekend. Part of the dispute was also wages, which have been cut by 20 percent due to the corona pandemic.

The agreements with the Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL - France) and Sindicato Español de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas (SEPLA - Spain) unions will allow pilots to gradually return to pre-pandemic salaries over a period of five years.

“We welcome these long-term contracts, which will run until 2027 and will bring numerous improvements for our pilots in Spain and France. As we continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic and our industry faces significant challenges, this long-term agreement provides stability, accelerated pay recovery, future pay increases and other performance improvements for pilots,” said Ryanair Human Resources Director Darrell Hughes.

The situation is very different in Belgium, where the pilots' union rejected Ryanair's proposal. The offer was rejected as insufficient and indefinite strikes can also be imagined. Belgians are demanding wage increases of 20 percent above pre-crisis levels.