Michael O’Leary, the outspoken CEO of Ryanair Group, has claimed that Brexit is the only reason for the current chaos in UK airports and that the issues are due to a lack of interest in positions like baggage handling.
He claimed that by bringing in European workers, the issues would be rapidly resolved, but airports were unable to do so due to Brexit.
In a statement, O’Leary said “We are hide-bound and hamstrung by a government so desperate to show Brexit has been a success when it’s been an abject failure. It won’t allow us to bring in EU workers to do these jobs.”
Airports disagree, saying that there are plenty of candidates and people who want to fill the open positions, but that the delays are caused by the process of having workers verified.
It’s difficult to understand how Mr. O’Leary bases his assertion given that all workers, whether from the UK or Europe, would still need to be screened and security cleared.
Given that Ryanair is an EU airline and is, therefore, able to hire pilots, crew, and any other workers from the EU (with the exception of Ryanair UK), his statements seem all the more bizarre.
O’Leary warned passengers to expect a less than “less than satisfactory experience” this summer, something that perhaps is more reflective of Ryanair than Brexit.
