O'Leary says 'no truth' in licence move story

Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary said today there was "no truth" in a report the airline is considering transferring its aviation…

Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary said today there was "no truth" in a report the airline is considering transferring its aviation licence from Ireland to Latvia.

The report in the Irish Independentthis morning claims a re-certification to a different State could reduce the ability of staff to claim the protection of Irish employment legislation.

But Mr O'Leary described the report as "speculative" adding: "Ryanair has held discussions with a number of other EU aviation authorities, solely with a view to lowering the high aircraft licensing costs here in Ireland.

"Any such initiative if implemented would have no impact whatsoever on either our aircraft or our highly paid employees who are based here in Ireland.

"It is a pity that newspapers sometimes run these entirely untrue stories on the basis of entirely manufactured speculation by uninformed local lawyers, when the airline has confirmed on the record, that there is no truth whatsoever to these invented claims".

The recent dispute at Irish Ferries centred on that company's plans to reflag its ships and also its plans to hire agency staff on lower wages from eastern Europe.

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