Budget carrier Ryanair staring at its first ever strike

Budget carrier Ryanair could see its first ever strike next week, according to reports in the Italian media.

Several outlets in the country reported Wednesday (6 December) Ryanair could face a strike next week after Italian union ANPAC announced plans for its members to take industrial action.

According to the AFP, the strike is due to take place on 15 December between 2:00pm GMT and 6pm GMT.

The union currently has 280 members, but ANPAC said it is not clear how many of its pilots would take part. The union also added that it could not specify how many of its pilots were scheduled to fly out of Italian airport between the said hours.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said she does not expect the walkout to go ahead.

"This is the sixth time FIT/CISL [other unions] or ANPAC has announced strikes by Ryanair pilots, only to postpone/cancel them later," she added.

"We expect this latest threatened strike will also be postponed/cancelled since both FIT/CISL and ANPAC are Alitalia unions with no role in Ryanair."

However, the airline is non-unionised and is entitled under law not to recognise unions in its workplace. ANPAC's members represent around 40% of the Ryanair pilots based in Italy.