Ryanair shares fall as airline loses ECJ ruling

Ryanair has lost an EU court battle in which the airline had sought to continue forcing cabin crew based outside Ireland to take their disputes to Irish courts, in a case with implications across the low-cost airline sector. Shares in the airline fell over 3.5% at one stage.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled in favour of cabin crew based at the Irish carrier’s Charleroi Airport base in Belgium on the question of which court should decide on their complaint.

The employees took the airline to a local court, believing Belgian law would be more favourable to them. Ryanair argued that Irish courts had jurisdiction over their Irish contracts.