Ryanair were not best pleased with Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary (Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit) which aired on Thursday night and in the aftermath they’ve dismissed one of the pilots who spoke out against the budget airline as well as bringing the British TV station to court.
The show centered around concerns for the carrier’s alleged fuel policy and featured anoymous pilots voicing concerns about the Ryanair’s working conditions. After rejecting claims made by the Channel 4 documentary as "false and defamatory" it Ryanair announced yesterday that "[They look] forward to this matter being resolved in the courts and the safety of Ryanair's operations being thoroughly vindicated."
In response to the lawsuit, Channel 4 said that they stand by the show’s journalism.
Adding to the controversy surrounding the show, Ryanair has sacked pilot Captain John Goss (who has been with the airline for 27 years) after he publicly spoke out against his employers on the show with the airline stating "gross misconduct" as their reason.
Ryanair issued a statement last night which said: "Ryanair's safety has been independently confirmed as being ‘on a par with the safest airlines in Europe’. It is delivered on a daily basis by over 9,000 outstanding aviation professionals whose commitment to safety is absolute.
"We will not allow a Ryanair employee to defame our safety on national television just three weeks after he confirmed in writing to Ryanair that he had no concerns with safety and no reason to make any confidential safety report to either the IAA or Ryanair.
"We look forward to correcting Mr Goss's defamatory claims in court in due course, but will not be commenting further on this issue which is now the subject of legal proceedings."