Ryanair expects minimal disruption from planned strikes

Ryanair expects minimal cancellations with affected passengers flying out at different times if pilots in Britain and Ireland go ahead with a two-day strike next week, the airline's chief people officer said on Thursday. Ryanair staff unions in Ireland, Britain, Spain and Portugal have announced plans to strike in the coming weeks, a year after an initial wave of strikes over pay and conditions forced it to cancel hundreds of flights and hit its profits. Members of its British pilot union, which the airline said represents half of its pilots there, voted last week to stage a two-day strike from Aug. 22, when directly employed pilots in Ireland also plan a strike. Unionised Irish pilots represent less than half of Ryanair's pilots in its home market. "Our hope is that we're going to cover the majority of the operation both in the UK and Ireland, and unless you hear from us, your flight is going ahead as normal," Eddie Wilson told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding that planned action by Portuguese cabin crew next week would be minor. "We'll be protecting as a priority the summer destinations and there may be some cancellations on multi-frequency routes between Ireland, the UK or on UK domestics where people can make free changes, etc. There will not be travel chaos."<br/>