Ryanair Group subsidiary Lauda is to close its Vienna base next week, citing “the failure of the Vida (AUA) union to sign a new CLA (Collective Labour Agreement)”.

Vienna is Lauda’s largest base, and the carrier said that over 300 “well paid pilot and cabin crew jobs” would be lost as a result of the closure.

In a statement Lauda’s joint CEOs Andreas Gruber and David O’Brien said:

“Lauda deeply regrets the loss of over 300 A320 crew jobs and the closure of Lauda’s Vienna A320 base next Friday, May 29. Shamefully, the Vida union ignored the wishes of over 95 per cent of pilots and 70 per cent of cabin crew at Lauda’s A320 Vienna base and has destroyed over 300 well paid jobs.

“Lauda also deplores the inaction of the Austrian Government which could have used its €800m State Aid to Lufthansa subsidiary AUA, to require Vida to save the jobs of Lauda’s A320 Vienna crews. It is regrettable that the Chancellor should roll out subsidies for a German airline while allowing Vida to destroy 300 Lauda jobs of Austrian citizens in Vienna.”

Lauda has several smaller bases at Dusseldorf, Palma, Stuttgart and Zadar in Croatia.

Ryanair completed a 100 per cent takeover of the Austrian carrier in January 2019, and the airline launched routes from Vienna to Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh last winter.

laudamotion.com