Ryanair sacks chief pilot Aidan Murray over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ towards female pilots

Ryanair has dismissed its chief pilot after an investigation found several alleged instances of “inappropriate behaviour” towards female colleagues. Aidan Murray, 58, was sacked on Tuesday evening (June 13) after accusations emerged of his “unacceptable behaviour” towards other junior pilots at the firm.

According to the Independent who first reported the sacking, the seasoned pilot had been with the Irish airline for 28 years. He was appointed to the most senior and powerful job in flight operations in 2020.

The investigation against him was launched following an anonymous complaint received late last month about inappropriate behaviour, claiming he had groomed four junior female pilots. There were also further reports from eight other female flight crew who accused him of unwanted approaches.

The report said an investigation revealed a pattern whereby Murray had swapped rosters in order to fly with certain female pilots. He is also alleged to have sent inappropriate text messages that allegedly say that they “had an amazing body” and an “amazing ass”.

The carrier’s chief people officer Darrell Hughes confirmed the dismissal in a staff memo, saying a probe into Murray found “a pattern of repeated and unacceptable behaviour.”

Mr Hughes wrote: “We regret to advise all of you that last evening we terminated with immediate effect the employment of the Ryanair DAC Chief Pilot.

“This decision follows an investigation over recent days which identified a pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour towards a number of female junior pilots, which was in breach of our anti-harassment policy.

“We are determined to ensure that all our people can come to work in a safe and secure environment. We would ask all of you to respect the privacy and integrity of those brave individuals who came forward to assist us in this investigation.”

In a public statement sent to the Independent, a Ryanair spokesperson said: “We do not comment on queries relating to individual employees.” Meanwhile, Murray has not responded to the allegations.

Murray’s role normally requires individuals to oversee the actions of all pilots, ground personnel, and flight attendants.