Ryanair dismisses chief pilot over ‘unacceptable behaviour’

Ryanair has dismissed the chief pilot of its main Irish-registered operations after an investigation uncovered a “pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour” towards junior female pilots at the company.

A senior company insider said a note had been emailed to employees of Ryanair DAC, which operates the carrier’s Irish-registered aircraft, informing them that its chief pilot had been dismissed on Tuesday evening.

The note, reviewed by the Financial Times, was signed by Ryanair’s chief people officer Darrell Hughes and did not name the person dismissed.

Ryanair DAC’s chief pilot for the past three years has been Aidan Murray. Murray could not immediately be reached for comment.

“The decision follows an investigation over recent days which identified a pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour towards a number of junior female pilots, in breach of our harassment policy,” the note read. “We are determined to ensure all of our people come to work in a safe and secure environment.”

It asked recipients to respect the privacy of the “brave women who came forward to assist us in this investigation”.

An airline’s chief pilot flies relatively rarely and oversees the application of new safety rules, promotions and other organisational issues.

The Ryanair insider, who has direct knowledge of the investigation, said it had been prompted by an anonymous tip-off and that the company had discovered the chief pilot sent inappropriately sexualised text messages to seven junior female pilots aged between 21 and 32. Some had been asked to send him explicit pictures of themselves, while several had their rosters altered so that they would fly with him.

About 40 per cent of Ryanair’s operations — including all the operations of aircraft based in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Portugal — use aircraft belonging to Ryanair DAC.

There have been no arrests or allegations of criminal wrongdoing in the case.

Ryanair said it did not comment on queries relating to individual employees.

The insider said the company had checked with the women concerned whether they had received similar approaches from other senior male staff and none had reported any such issues.

The chief pilot has seven days following Tuesday’s dismissal to mount an appeal.

The Irish Aviation Authority said it did not comment on correspondence with “regulated entities”.