The Spanish trade union USO has been criticizing the implementation of the Spanish COVID-19 protective measures by the airlines Ryanair and Lauda for several weeks. In particular, the fact that, contrary to local legislation, no FFP2 masks are issued to flight personnel has already led to complaints being directed to the aviation authorities and the labor inspectorate.

USO is now also criticizing the cleaning processes of the Ryanair Group, because they would forego cleaning by specialist staff between two flights. The cabins are only thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at night. From the point of view of the employee representatives, this is not enough in times of Corona. You also refer to competitors who would very well have specialist staff cleaned between two flights. At Lauda and Ryanair, the cabin crew is supposed to take on this task “without cleaning agents, protective equipment and training”.

Since July 8, 2020, binding COVID-19 safety regulations, which are based on the recommendations of EASA, have been in effect for all airlines operating from Spain. According to the USO, Ryanair and Lauda should disregard these. The employee representatives are particularly annoyed that, instead of the mandatory FFP2 masks, reusable MNS masks, which were produced in China and are not supposed to have approval in Europe, are now being issued to the staff. On board there shouldn't even be exchange masks for passengers for money. In this context, EASA recommends that airlines have them ready. However, there is no mention of these having to be free for the passengers.

The USO union continues to criticize the fact that, despite a complaint that has already been filed with the responsible authorities, on-board sales have not been reduced. Duty-free items are also offered. The only difference is that cash is no longer accepted and payment can only be made with credit cards. By the way, ATM cards such as Vpay and Maestro are not accepted on board. The employee representatives declare that the cabin crew is on duty for up to 12 hours a day and is in direct contact with up to 1.400 passengers. This extrapolation assumes four rotations per day.

Passengers also leave behind dirt and rubbish. USO criticizes the fact that the cabin crew is still being used to tidy up and roughly clean the cabins, while other airlines would deploy specialist staff between two flights. At both Lauda and Ryanair, appropriate training to prevent infections is said to have been omitted.

This would also mean that Ryanair and Lauda maintain the average idle time of 25 to 35 minutes (depending on the airport). USO accuses that the two carriers would not use the slowed boarding and alighting, but would act exactly the same as in the time before Corona.

According to the USO, Ryanair is said to be receiving state aid in Spain but is refusing to apply Spanish labor protection laws related to COVID-19. The carrier is supposed to talk to the union about Irish laws. According to USO, the staff is busy with Spanish contracts and should therefore also be subject to Spanish legislation. When asked, the Ryanair Group did not comment on this matter.