Ryanair has asked a number of flight attendants in Spain to repay salary increases after a legal dispute with one of their unions.

The airline had agreed a pay rise with Spanish union Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), which was to apply to all flight attendants, regardless of the union they belonged to.

However, in March, the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) won a case in the Spanish High Court objecting to this agreement on the grounds that those at the negotiation table were not authorised.

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USO claimed that its representatives “legally couldn’t sign that kind of agreement” and the deal was nullified.

Ryanair has now written to USO to say it will inform members how much they must now pay back, equivalent to five months’ worth of uplift, or up to €3,000. Attendants were paid higher salaries between October 2024 and March 2025.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “USO are complaining about pay cuts that result from their court case. Ryanair is complying with the court case that USO took to cut pay while it is under appeal.

“USO are a tiny minority union with no support from our crew, the vast majority of whom have their pay and conditions protected by an agreement with CCOO.”

Ryanair has told flight attendants: “We are willing to offer a repayment plan of 12 months with the deductions starting in the payslip of June.”

A USO spokesperson accused Ryanair of “union-based discrimination”.

However, Ryanair wrote back to the union: “If you wish to pursue legal action against us for complying with the outcome of the court case that you won, that is entirely a matter for you.”

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