Holiday flights could be hit as Ryanair pilots back strike

Members of the Irish Airline Pilots' Association (Ialpa) at the budget airline voted overwhelmingly (99%) in favour of industrial action.

The strike is planned for Thursday July 12, for 24 hours.

The union says the Dublin-based carrier is not taking its demands seriously over pay and conditions, issues over seniority and how annual leave is dealt with.

The outcome of the ballot could leave holidaymakers facing disruption over the busy summer period.

It came hours after the airline revealed another month of travel misery as air traffic control strikes left more than 210,000 passengers with cancelled flights in June.

It said more than 1,100 flights were axed for the second month running due to air traffic control strikes over four weekends in June, as well as staff shortages in the UK, Germany and France.

A spokesman for Ialpa said: "Our member pilots directly employed by Ryanair complain that there is no transparent system for the determination of important matters including voluntary/involuntary base transfer/allocation, command upgrade, allocation of annual leave and promotion.

"When a pilot receives notice of a mandatory base change, or is denied a request for a change of base, such management decisions can have a devastating effect on family life."

The union said it remained available and willing to engage on the issues identified in the notice of strike action.