Ryanair lambasted for plan to close Eindhoven base

Ryanair's plan to close its base at Eindhoven Airport was largely met with fierce criticism on social media and from trade unions. Many, including SP parliamentarian Cem Lacin, accuse the Irish budget airline of closing the Eindhoven base to punish its Dutch employees for striking on Friday.

"On Friday pilots and cabin crew held a strike, now Ryanair says its closing the base in Eindhoven. Scandalous, this attitude towards its employees! We must act against this, Ryanair must adhere to our labor law and stop this exploitation", Lacin said on Twitter.

Many other Twitter users agree. "Ryanair closing its Eindhoven and Bremen bases as punishment for the recent strike action is such a filthy tactic. This dispute needs addressing", one wrote. Another: "Just like Amazon, Ryanair isn't good to its employees. Only to its management, shareholders and bargain hunters." And: "If Ryanair scraps the base in Eindhoven, I will scrap the company and use the train. Solidarity with the employees!"

Another Twitter user points out that after reducing its profit expectations for the year, Ryanair still expects to make 1.1 billion euros in profit this year. "Jesus, times are hard", he wrote. One Twitter user suggested that instead of complaining about the costs of the strikes, Ryanair should invest half of its profit into better wages for its pilots and personnel. 

The Irish airline's employees were informed about the decision to close the Eindhoven base in a memo on Monday, the trade unions were not informed, FNV said in a statement. "For us it is completely unacceptable that the employees were ordered to move and work from another airport in Europe within a few weeks, or else be dismissed", Asmae Hajjari of FNV said. "The winter plan can not be rolled out so quickly, so there's now way other than that this decision to closure has been in the works for some time."

According to the union, this closure will have major consequences for 40 pilots, 98 cabin crew members, and their families. 

While most comments on Twitter blamed Ryanair for this situation, at least one blamed the unions. "Well VNV now you have done it with your weak left-wing union, your commotion cost Eindhoven Airport hard and important income... On behalf of your benevolent colleagues THANKS", he wrote. 

Vrijdag staakten piloten en het cabinepersoneel, nu zegt #Ryanair de basis in Eindhoven te sluiten. Schandalig, deze houding naar werknemers! Hier moeten we tegen optreden, Ryanair moet zich houden aan ons arbeidsrecht en stoppen met uitbuiting! #FNV #VNV https://t.co/eLZUUytsYw

— Cem Lacin (@CemLacin) October 1, 2018

Ryanair closing its Eindhoven and Bremen bases as punishment for the recent strike action is such a filthy tactic. This dispute needs addressing.

— Kevin Andrew (@Kev_Andrew) October 1, 2018

Ryanair sluit basis Eindhoven Airport? Ook al kun je goedkoper vliegen met #Ryanair, dan kies ik toch voor een andere vliegmaatschappij. Net als Amazon is Ryanair niet goed voor haar werknemers. Alleen voor haar management, aandeelhouders en koopjesjagers. https://t.co/ruuOOV9CpE

— erikrijpstra (@erikrijpstra) October 1, 2018

Ryanair geeft winstwaarschuwing en schrapt Eindhoven als basis https://t.co/29gldfdxOj via @NOS 1,1 à 1,2 miljard winst ipv 1,25 à 1,35 miljard. Jezus, wat gaat het slecht.

— 🔴Wim Valks🔴 (@wimvalks) October 1, 2018

Ryanair sluit basis in Eindhoven per november. Het lijkt erop dat de staking van vrijdag jl flink wordt afgestraft. Bizar. https://t.co/XrTvO8jTv7 (via @NUnl)

— Ad Toet (@ad_toet) October 1, 2018

Ryanair sluit basis in Eindhoven per november https://t.co/MWH7CrAM47 via @NUnl Nu dan steek de helft van jullie winst dan eens in meer loon voor jullie piloten en hard werkend personeel. Strijk niet de hele wist zelf op stelletje rotkoppen. Deze vuile Ier. Wat een golddiger dus

— Diny kreekels timmer (@k_kreekels) October 1, 2018

Als @Ryanair de basis in Eindhoven schrapt dan schrap ik dit bedrijf en ga ik weer met de trein. @FNV
SOLIDAIR MET DE WERKNEMERS! https://t.co/rroZW2wIbQ

— Andrea Napolitano (@GPenneman) October 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/Blancu13/status/1046717781356490752