(ANSA) - Rome, October 19 - Italian Civil Aviation Authority
ENAC chief Vito Riggio said Thursday there were no grounds to
punish Ryanair despite the Irish low-cost airline cancelling
thousands of flights without warning due to staff taking
backed-up holidays and pilots leaving for better-paying
airlines.
"There are no grounds for applying sanctions on Ryanair, but
we'll remain vigilant and ready to intervene if there are any
complaints", ENAC President Vito Riggio said after meeting
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary.
Riggio said Ryanair had agreed to a request for more
transparent information.
O'Leary told Riggio that the budget carrier would not be
cancelling any more flights after March.
"It was a good meeting," he said, saying that Ryanair will
pay "all" of the estimated 25 million euros in reimbursements to
affected passengers.
"We found solutions for 95% of the passengers involved"
after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights.
O'Leary went on to say that "our pilots are paid very well
and we are now doing interviews with Alitalia pilots, who want
to come over to us".
He said talks were going ahead with Alitalia commissioners
but "we have to sort out our own problems before we can deal
with other peoples'".