The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has reacted with sharp criticism to the plans of the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair to close its base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). Around 100 pilots are directly affected by this measure and now face an uncertain professional future. The union sees the decision not as a purely economic move, but suspects a direct connection to labor disputes. This stems from a previous dispute over the duty roster model, in which the pilots successfully sued to return to a five-day workweek with four days off after the company attempted to shorten rest periods.
A key point of criticism from employee representatives is the accusation that Ryanair is using the base closure as a strategic tool to prevent union participation. Since the Berlin base is the only one within the company in Germany with an elected works council, the union interprets the closure as a signal to other locations to avoid organized employee representation. VC President Andreas Pinheiro spoke in this context of a deliberate exploitation of the workforce's fear for their livelihoods. Ryanair, on the other hand, often cites high operating costs in Germany, particularly increased air traffic taxes and airport fees, as justification for capacity reductions.
Additional industry analyses highlight that the conflict coincides with a period of generally rising operating costs in German air traffic. While competitors like the Lufthansa Group are stabilizing their capacities at German hubs, point-to-point airlines are increasingly threatening to relocate their fleets to lower-cost markets in Eastern Europe or Italy. Union representatives are urging policymakers to create a framework that prevents co-determination rights from being circumvented through relocations. Nevertheless, the economic attractiveness of German airports, due to the high burden of government taxes, remains a recurring argument for airlines in wage and location negotiations.
The situation at BER airport exemplifies the difficult balance between competitive cost structures and maintaining social standards. Should the closure proceed as announced, the affected aircraft would have to be replaced by planes not based in Berlin, potentially restricting the company's operational flexibility on site. For the pilots, this could mean, in the worst-case scenario, relocation to foreign bases or job loss. The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit announced it would explore all legal and union-related options to ensure the station's continued operation and job security.