The Political Comission of the PSD Faro Section have released a statement today expressing "the severity of the breaking news". The Party stated that it is "greatly concerned" at the news yesterday that the Ryanair airline is preparing to close its operational base at Faro Airport as soon as the 20th of January 2020.
The news is all the more worrying "as Ryanair constitutes about 30 percent of Faro Airport's passenger market share, being the leading airline and main arrival source for tourists and visitors to our region," says PSD Faro. "We have been warning for a long time: the collapse of the English market and the increasingly gloomy prospects as a result of Brexit's resolution requires strong action by the government, with the mission of promoting the Algarve in alternative markets."
The closure of the Faro operations base will result in the loss of 120 jobs, according to the SNPVAC cabin crew union, which had called a strike for 21-25 August.
The budget airline told the union that the decision to close the base, which operates ten aircraft in summer, was part of wider planned cuts flagged last week due to weaker earnings this year, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, and concerns over Brexit, according to SNPVAC director Fernando Gandra.
The timing "appears at least strange as it comes within days of our calling a strike in Portugal and as the company is telling staff its passenger numbers have risen 9% in July from a year earlier," Mr Gandra said.
A Ryanair spokesman would not confirm or deny the closure, but said, as previously announced, that "a number of Ryanair bases will be cut or closed this winter" mainly due to the late delivery of up to 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
"These consultations are taking place with our people at affected bases currently. No routes will be affected as they will be served by flights from other bases from November when the winter schedule starts," he said.
The SNPVAC union said on 1 August its members would go on strike for five days from 21 August after Ryanair refused to comply with a protocol signed last year, which included holiday pay, 22 days of annual leave per year and full compliance with Portuguese parental law.
A day earlier, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told staff in a video message that the company had 500 more pilots and 400 more cabin crew than needed, and that job losses would be announced in the coming weeks.
