Ryanair pilot sacked after speaking on Channel 4 documentary

A long-standing pilot has been sacked by Ryanair after he appeared on a Channel 4 documentary and raised safety concerns about the budget airline.

John Goss was sacked with "immediate effect" after speaking on Dispatches and Ryanair has issued legal proceedings against him, the Daily Mail reports.

In the programme, he said that he had received a critical letter for using too much fuel and that many Ryanair pilots did not have confidence in the safety reporting systems of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

According to The Guardian, a statement from the airline read: "We will not allow a Ryanair employee to defame our safety on national television just three weeks after he confirmed in writing to Ryanair that he had no concerns with safety and no reason to make any confidential safety report to either the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) or Ryanair."

A spokesperson added: "Ryanair rejected the false and defamatory claims made by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme which wrongly impugn and smear Ryanair's outstanding 29-year safety record based on nothing more than anonymous hearsay claims made by individuals whose identity was concealed, and/or by representatives of pilot unions of Ryanair's competitor airlines masquerading as a non-Ryanair Pilot Group."

Goss, who has been with the airline for 25 years, was expected to retire in October this year.

Reuters reports that he is receiving legal advice from the Ryanair Pilot Group.

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