Ryanair faces “co-ordinated” pilot strikes in Europe next week to add to further industrial action in Ireland on Friday, the airline has said.

The company’s statement on Wednesday came as it emerged that pilots in Britain, one of its biggest markets, have taken a key step towards industrial action.

Ryanair said it had received notice of strikes on Friday August 10th by pilot unions in Belgium and Sweden.

“We have also been notified of possible strike action by pilot unions in Germany and the Netherlands which will, we believe, be co-ordinated and occur on Friday August 10th,” the airline added.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) has served a “failure to agree” notice on the airline, the first of several steps that could end in industrial action... 

Ryanair will meet Balpa on Thursday for talks on a collective labour agreement. The airline confirmed that it has also invited unions in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden to meet to discuss similar deals.