Ryanair’s chief pilot was sacked with a bang on Tuesday night. In a brief letter sent to all employees, Darrel Hughes, the airline’s personnel director, justified the move. This was taken after the conclusions brought to light by an investigation carried out when the accusations of several young pilots became known. With these new-fangled female aviators, some newcomers to the company as cadets, he would have consistently engaged in totally inappropriate and unacceptable behavior. In that public letter the name of the aviator is not specified, although the position of chief pilot was held until yesterday by Aidan Murray, a 58-year-old aviator with extensive experience flying the Boeing 737, the only aircraft model used by this Irish company founded in 1984. .
The human resources manager accuses the airman of breaching the airline’s anti-harassment policy, indicating that the company’s main objective is for any employee to have a safe and secure work environment. In the second paragraph of the letter, it is also requested to respect the privacy and integrity of the people who have taken a step forward to denounce the situation, whom he has thanked for his courage.
La Vanguardia has been able to learn from sources close to the case that almost three weeks ago an anonymous shipment was sent to those responsible for the aviation company accusing Murray of continuous and verified inappropriate behavior towards four young pilots hired by Ryanair. From that moment on, an investigation began that led to the discovery that this pilot not only harassed these women but also doubled, revealing a flagrant abuse of power with up to eight different female aviators, to whom he initially offered friendly and professional support thanks to his experience. . He promised them to promote and consolidate their professional careers at home. At first, that seemed like a noble attitude that later became more so when he flew with them alone in the Boeing cockpit.
As chief pilot, Murray was able to modify schedules so he could spend full flight days with these female aviators, who range in age from 21 to 32. This harassment would have occurred in the last 18 months against co-workers who had recently arrived at the company, some with cadet status. During the first ten weeks of work, they have a commander-supervisor at their side: in his case, it was Murray, consolidated in his role as chief pilot, a position to which he was promoted in 2020 after 27 years flying for the company. His seniority also led him to be the visible image of the pilots of the house, since the management used to delegate to him the visit to the simulator center for special guests who want to make known the internal organization of a company that is claims beyond being the best-known low-cost airline in Europe. Just yesterday Murray’s LinkedIn account was deactivated.
