Expatica news

Ryanair resumes reservations

29 August 2007

BRUSSELS (AFP) – Ryanair resumed taking reservations for Belgian flights on Tuesday after receiving guarantees minimising the impact of strikes at its Belgian base, the Irish low-cost carrier said.

On 22 August the carrier stopped taking reservations for flights to and from Charleroi airport, and demanded that authorities take action to avoid strikes after a stoppage in June grounded flights there.

Ryanair said Tuesday it was taking reservations again after reaching an agreement with authorities at Charleroi airport in southern Belgium ensuring that "passengers would no longer suffer repeats of the wildcat strike."

Flights at the airport were grounded 15-17 June as security staff went on strike over plans to remove their civil service status and transfer them to a private company.

Although fellow low-cost carriers Wizzair, Jet4You and Onair also serve Charleroi, Ryanair is the biggest airline at the airport, where it has lifted traffic in six years from 200,000 passengers annually to 2.5 million with 150 flights per week.

Spurred into action by Ryanair’s threat, the government of Belgium’s southern Wallonia region reached an agreement last week with unions requiring strikes to be notified 48 hours in advance.

Under the agreement, in the event of a strike at the airport, Ryanair’s planes would not be blocked and could be diverted to other airports.

[Copyright AFP 2007]

Subject: Belgian news