Grounded pilot back on roster, court told

Grounded Ryanair pilot Capt John Goss had been re-rostered by the low-fares airline and was back flying, the High Court heard yesterday.

Hugh Mohan SC, counsel for Capt Goss, said his client had only recently learned that he had been put back on the airline's roster and would be taking up flying duties that day (Wednesday) or today.

Mr Justice Barry White was to have given his decision yesterday on an application to jail Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary and two other company executives for alleged contempt of court, but said he would not now do so until Wednesday next, May 25th.

Mr Mohan said that the airline bosses had failed to reinstate Capt Goss to flying duties in blatant breach of two previous High Court orders.

Mr Mohan, who appeared with Ms Marguerite Bolger, said Capt Goss had undergone and passed final medical and psychiatric examinations and, as earlier, had been passed as completely fit to fly.

Mr Goss had claimed that Ryanair was in contempt of court and had sought the attachment and committal of Mr O'Leary, Ryanair director of flight and ground operations David O'Brien and Capt Ray Conway, the airline's chief pilot.

He is also seeking an order for the sequestration (seizure) of Ryanair's assets.

Mr Mohan said that, because of the obduracy of Ryanair in its manner of handling the matter following the making of the initial court order, Capt Goss had to bring a second motion for contempt of court. The airline had done everything it could to prevent him from flying and had done so in the face of the order of the High Court.

Since the last court hearing, Capt Goss had attended a medical examination in the Netherlands in order to have his concentration levels tested and had been found fit to fly.

Mr Mohan said Ryanair had been engaged in a war of attrition which it had set out to win on the basis that it believed it was bigger than this one individual. Mr O'Leary, seemed to have left court under some misapprehension and had continued shilly shallying.

Mr Richard Nesbitt SC, counsel for Ryanair, told Mr Justice White that Capt Goss had now been rostered as ordered by the court.

Mr Nesbitt, who appeared with Mr Martin Hayden SC and Mr Mark Dunne, said the issue in the case had always been one of flight safety.

Capt Conway, was now happy that Capt Goss could fly.

"It is exceptionally unfortunate that all that has been put before this court is something suggestive of a dishonestly motivated ruse by Capt Conway, the chief pilot of Ryanair," Mr Nesbitt said.

"There is no satisfactory evidence to merit that finding. The centre of the matter has always been Capt Conway doing his job and trying to do it to the best of his ability."

Judge White said he would give his decision next Wednesday at 10:30am.