Ryanair has postponed the opening of a new base at Reus in Spain for five weeks blaming the delay on a strike by Boeing workers in Seattle, which it said had delayed the delivery of new aircraft.
The airline separately announced it was postponing the location of a seventh aircraft at its Bergamo base in Italy by four weeks, also due to the Boeing strike.
In a statement this evening, Ryanair said it was delaying the opening of the Reus base from October 1st to November 5th.
Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley, said: "We sincerely regret the postponement of the opening of our Reus base but unfortunately the two new aircraft, which we had reserved for this purpose are now indefinitely delayed due to a strike by Boeing employees."
Mr Cawley said, however, that due to the reduction in the number of aircraft flying at our other bases during the winter period, it would be able to secure two further aircraft to facilitate the new opening date at Reus.
"We sincerely apologise to all our passengers for the inconvenience caused by this change in our plans but I hope they understand that it is due to circumstances over which we have no control and we look forward to seeing them on board at our new scheduled opening date of November 5th," Mr Cawley said.
In a separate statement issued on behalf of Ryanair, Mr Cawley said that the airline would be able to secure an aircraft from October 29th to facilitate the opening of new routes from Bergamo, also due to the reduction in the number of flights from other bases during the winter period.
Boeing expects a strike by machinists to shut down its factories for at least a month and to further push back delivery of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, its chief financial officer said this week.
"I think there'll be at least a one-month delay," James Bell said on Wednesday.
"Right now it's a one-for-one day slip on the 787 and all other programs as well."
Media in Seattle, where Boeing has its international headquarters, said the company's 27,000 machinists walked off the job on September 6th, demanding more job security and higher pay.