Ryanair Slam Italian Air Traffic Controllers

Low-cost carrier Ryanair have hit out at striking Italian air traffic controllers branding their actions as "shameful."

The controllers are due to walk out on the 21st of June with Ryanair claiming it to be the 18th time since January 2007 that either Italian or French air traffic controllers have gone on strike.

The action will cause some delay in air travel to Italy and could potentially leave passengers facing disrupted holidays or lengthy delays at airports. Ryanair have stated that in their opinion there is "no justification" for the strike and have highlighted that it is taking place during busy weekends in the summer flight season.

The airlines website ryanair.com carries a quote from the Director Of Flight And Ground Operations, David O'Brien in which he responded to the strike action by saying:

"We have requested Mr. Silvano Manera, Head of ENAC, (the Italian Regulator) to spend less time protecting his former employer Alitalia and more time protecting Italian passengers and tourists from this 18th strike, and further disruptions caused by ENAC mismanagement. We have also requested the EU Commission to take action to ensure passengers are directly compensated by ATC providers for these failures. It appears there is one rule for the big State monopolies and another for some airlines and their passengers.   On behalf of our 60 million passengers, we will continue to highlight the failures of those whose job it is to protect airline passengers from the failures and abuse of Big State Monopolies"

Published by: Jon Vickery