Ryanair quits UK aviation panel, citing no progress on key goals

Ryanair Holdings Plc. resigned from a UK effort to bolster the country’s aviation sector after five months, saying the industry-government panel had become a “talking shop” that failed to make progress on key priorities such as air-space modernization and border control.

The UK Aviation Council was set up in February by Transport Secretary Mark Harper to help prepare the sector for future challenges ranging from customer rights and sustainability to flying taxis and freedom of movement. Led by Baroness Charlotte Vere, a junior minister in the Department for Transport, it includes the heads of major airlines such as British Airways, EasyJet Plc and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., along with airports and other travel industry players. 

In a letter to Vere signed by CEO Michael O’Leary, Ryanair said the council has “delivered zero action and no practical measures.” Among the Irish low-cost airline’s demands: more air-traffic controller staff to reduce delays, improved border-control processing times, lower visa costs, a UK push for airspace reform in Europe, and the reintroduction of temporary IDs at UK airports to bring on more workers.  

At a meeting on Tuesday, Vere proposed a working group to promote UK airspace modernization which Ryanair said won’t report back until April 2024 and will receive no DfT funding.

“There has been no action, no delivery, and no improvement in UK aviation, and the Council has become a talking shop for Baroness Vere, Govt bureaucrats and the CAA to waffle on about reform while delivering none,” O’Leary said in a statement, referring to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. 

A UK government spokesperson said Ryanair’s decision to quit the council was “disappointing.” A new airline representative will be chosen in Ryanair’s place for the next meeting of the council. 

“The Aviation Council was setup to bring the industry and government together to address shared challenges facing the sector and ensure the UK aviation sector remains one of the strongest and successful in the world,” the spokesperson said in an email. 

While aviation is surging from the lows of the pandemic, the busy peak travel season is fraught with concerns over a repeat of the chaos seen last year. On Monday, EasyJet said it had preemptively canceled almost 2,000 flights this summer from its London Gatwick hub, citing air traffic control disruptions. 

Eurocontrol, which manages air space in Europe, last week warned of more disruptions this summer over threatened strikes in Brussels. Industrial action has already forced disruptions this summer after air traffic controllers in France and Switzerland walked out over working conditions.