Siemens boycotts Ryanair
The Swedish Svenska Dagbladet reports:
The German industrial group Siemens, with 400,000 employees worldwide, has decided for a global boycott of Ryanair. But Ryanair has threatened legal action.
Siemens Group Management took the decision after Ryanair suffered a number of accidents and incidents in recent times and is a signal to the entire aviation industry.
Ryanair does not look at the decision with approval. ”If this story is true, then Ryanair will take legal action against Siemens” said Stephen McNamara, spokesman for Ryanair, to DN.se.
Just five days ago a Ryanair flying from Alicante in Spain to Gothenburg had to make an emergency landing in Denmark. Two Ryanair flights were cancelled at the previous weekend in Spain because of technical problems.
These are just some of the high-profile incidents that budget airline Ryanair has suffered recently. And now, Siemens, manufacturers of white goods, computers and nuclear reactors, has had enough. At a board meeting of the Group Management in Germany, the decision was taken to boycott Ryanair until further notice. The decision applies worldwide for all employees in190 countries worldwide. The boycott applies to all business flights that the Group’s 400,000 employees may need to take.
Mary Baldin, Information and Sustainability manager at Siemens in Sweden, says that the decision taken was with regard to the safety of the employees of Siemens. Baldin referred to recent events including those where Ryanair planes were forced to land because they did not have enough fuel.
With its many employees, Siemens is a major business travel customers. Thus, a boycott could be significant. Does Siemens use Ryanair often? “No, Ryanair is not on the list of the airlines we usually employ. The decision to avoid Ryanair altogether is not only to protect our employees, but is also a signal to the entire aviation industry. We do not accept that safety can be jeopardised to save money”.