The Austrian pilots association ACA sees Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary on Tuesday announced expansion at Vienna International Airport critical. It was "an attack on the working conditions of pilots in Austria".

A major part of the ACA's criticism is that in many “Ryanair countries” there are no collective agreements and that agency work or even self-employment are used in the cockpit. “The Austrian Cockpit Association has criticized many of these atypical forms of employment several times, and the European Cockpit Association also vehemently condemns them at European level. Cockpit staff need a job without fear of risking it if they get sick or express themselves critically. Because working conditions also have safety-relevant aspects. Ryanair's business model is based on unfair competition in many ways. Passengers too have to recognize that with cheap tickets they are supporting an undermining of the social system and wage dumping, ”said the ACA.

It is now demanded that Austrian politics should prevent precarious working conditions and so “ensure the high standards of the Austrian labor and social system”. The Austrian Laudamotion GmbH has not been an airline since the end of the previous year. The successor Lauda Europe is a Maltese company. The Polish sister company Buzz has also stationed aircraft in Vienna. Malta Air and Ryanair DAC also fly to Austria from other bases.