Comment: Ryanair now hit by strikes that plagued Aer Lingus

In 2011, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary warned Aer Lingus about the stark consequences if it gave into its trade unions in a rostering dispute that was going on at the time.

“If management roll back on this, Aer Lingus will be destroyed”, he warned the rival airline of which Ryanair was a shareholder at the time.

“If they blink and go back into the useless ‘machinery of the State, Impact will keep them there for months on end.