Smoke, Fire, and the Immolation of Due Process

On 15 June 2023, Ryanair fired its chief pilot following an investigation into the latter’s alleged "pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behavior towards a number of female pilots.”

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Ryanair is the world’s largest airline by the metric of scheduled international travelers. The ultra-low-cost air-carrier is the largest entity in the Ryanair Holdings family of airlines, which comprises Ryanair UK, Buzz, Lauda Europe, and Malta Air.

Named in reports as Aidan Murray, the sacked individual has been with Ryanair for 28-years and was appointed the carrier’s chief pilot in 2020.

Mr. Murray, 58, allegedly harassed eight junior colleagues, pestering some with text messages including comments pertaining to their bodies.

Murray is accused, also, of altering flight rosters for purpose of ensuring he flew with certain female colleagues.

In a staff memorandum, Ryanair's chief people officer Darrell Hughes stated Mr. Murray's employment had been "terminated with immediate effect.” Hughes contended an investigation had determined Murray’s behavior "was in breach of our [Ryanair’s] anti-harassment policy,” which sets forth Ryanair staff are deserving of a “ … safe and secure environment.”

Mr. Hughes concluded: "We would ask all of you to respect the privacy and integrity of those brave individuals who came forward to assist us in this investigation.”

Mr. Murray has seven days to appeal his dismissal.

The chief pilot position is mandated by aviation regulatory convention. All scheduled and non-scheduled commercial air-carriers—e.g., Part 121 and 135 certificate-holders and their foreign equivalents—are obligated by civil aviation regulatory bodies to appoint a chief pilot, a director of operations, and a director of maintenance. In the U.S., individuals serving in the aforementioned positions must meet specified and stringent requirements set forth by the FAA and act as liaisons between the agency and the air-carriers by which they’re respectively employed.

In addition to holding Airline Transport Pilot certification, U.S. Part 121 and 135 chief pilots must be PIC qualified and current in at least one aircraft model operated by the certificate holder.

Notwithstanding the active flight status upon which the position is, in part, predicated, the chief pilot’s function is primarily administrative. In most instances, high-seniority line captains—check airmen in particular—are tapped for the chief pilot position.

Chief pilots’ professional purviews include but are not limited to: setting flight schedules; organizing and overseeing pilot training; documenting and maintaining records of pilot credentials, training, and currency; managing flight and duty-time rosters and maintaining records thereof; distributing and tracking custody of air-carrier operation manuals; and facilitating safe, professional, and regulatorily-compliant aircraft operations.

In a genuine and immediate sense, chief pilots exercise considerable power over the pilot cadres they’re paid to oversee. Abuses of said power are at once infrequent and regrettable.

What proof Ryanair will utilize to substantiate its claims against Mr. Murray remains to be seen.

FMI: www.ryanair.com