Ryanair is now Europe’s largest low-cost airline. It is also one of the most controversial,

due to its outspoken boss, its cost-containment strategies, and its hostile relations with

organized labor. Ryanair has consistently denied accusations that it is antiunion, stating

that it respects the right of workers to organize and even claiming to be a champion of its

employees’ right to non-unionization. However, this claim does not hold up in the face of

extensive evidence of union suppression. This article addresses such evidence,

particularly, the various methods by which Ryanair has avoided and suppressed unions.

In Ireland, Ryanair successfully crushed an organizing campaign by the country’s largest

union, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, after a lengthy and

bitter strike. The only other union continuing to challenge Ryanair is the Irish Airline

Pilots Association. However, its efforts recently suffered a major setback when the

Supreme Court ruled that Ryanair’s nonunion “employee representative committees”

were a form of collective bargaining, allowing the company to affirm its nonunion status.