Ryanair denies pilots' claim of working beyond approved flying hours

LOW fares airline Ryanair Holdings yesterday denied its pilots work beyond approved limits on flying hours, as their union said it was concerned safety standards were being compromised.

"Ryanair operates to an approved flight time limitation system, whereby no Ryanair pilot may fly more than 900 hours in any year," an airline spokeswoman said.

"Over the last year to March 31, no Ryanair pilot either reached or exceeded this 900-hour limit, and the average flight hours for each Ryanair pilot was 809 hours."

The London-based Times newspaper said two Ryanair pilots had contacted it to allege dozens of the airline's pilots had either broken the international 900-hour limit or were scheduled to do so very soon.

The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), which represents pilots in the UK, where more than half of Ryanair's fleet is based, said it had received "several" complaints from Ryanair staff concerned about flying hours. The pilots' union said it had written to Ryanair's regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority, asking for clarification of reports it had agreed with the airline to a change in the system for calculating pilots' flying time.

"There is confusion, and confusion in the minds of pilots is unsafe," said BALPA deputy general secretary, Graham Fowler.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Aviation Authority said that while there were rumours of Ryanair pilots working over the 900-hour limit, those rumours had not been substantiated.

"There have been rumours in the industry of Ryanair pilots working beyond the 900 hour limit. We have received only one formal complaint from a Ryanair pilot about working hours and that investigation is ongoing. So far, that claim has not been substantiated," she said.