Ryanair to close base after pilots reject pay cut

Ryanair is shutting its base at Frankfurt Hahn airport after German pilots voted to reject pay cuts.

The firm said in a memo to pilots that its bases at Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf airports were also at risk of closure by the end of the summer.

Airlines have been struggling because of global travel restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus.

Ryanair's UK pilots and cabin crew recently voted to accept pay cuts to reduce job losses.

"We must move on with alternative measures to deliver savings, which regrettably will mean base closures and dismissals," Ryanair said in a memo to its German pilots.

Ryanair announced in May it was set to cut 3,000 jobs across Europe.

However, earlier this month, the company revealed that it had cut a deal with the Unite union so that UK cabin crew jobs would be safeguarded.

Ryanair is yet to specify how many jobs will be impacted by the changes in Germany.

German airline union Vereinigung Cockpit said that "less than half of pilots were in favour of accepting" the pay deal.

"We believe the agreement would have the potential to harm the entire pilot community across Germany," it said.

Ryanair said the proposed cuts are based on current schedule plans, and insisted that they could become "considerably worse" if there is a resurgence of coronavirus.

"We made it clear throughout negotiations that if the vote was unsuccessful, then the next step would have to be dismissals," it said.

"It is bizarre that the union canvassed against the deal knowing full well that the result would be base closures and job losses."