Ryanair has described the perpetrators involved in a “senseless” arson attack on several houses that the Irish low-cost airline owns close to Dublin International Airport (DUB) for use as subsidised staff accommodation as “morons.” The airline has vowed to step up security to help quell fears amongst “unnerved” workers who were caught up in the attack.
The incident occurred in the early hours of June 24 when the occupants of seven of Ryanair’s houses, which it owns in the town of Swords in County Dublin, were fast asleep.
The occupants were woken by loud banging on their windows as the attack first got underway. The suspects, who remain at large, then set fire to trash bins outside the properties and pushed them against the front doors.
Fire damage around the doors and some of the windows of the seven houses in the Fosterstown Place development in Swords was clearly evident. Thankfully, despite the serious nature of the incident, none of the occupants were injured, and firefighters were able to quickly bring the blazes under control.
Ryanair first started to buy up houses in Swords, which is located just to the north of Dublin Airport, in 2023. The airline has bought dozens of properties, which are then rented out at subsidized rates to lower-earning employees, including cabin crew and baggage handlers.
The airline’s decision to buy up houses in Swords, which is one of Ireland’s fastest-growing towns, has angered some local residents, who accuse Ryanair of pricing them out of their own town.
Michael O’Leary, the airline’s forthright chief executive, has previously dismissed those concerns, saying he is “nothing but proud” of Ryanair’s move into property rental.
Ryanair has always insisted that cabin crew earn enough to rent their own properties, but by making house shares available in Swords, it means employees don’t end up living in cheaper accomodation on the other side of Dublin, making it difficult for them to get to work for early morning flights.
“Thanks to the prompt efforts of the Dublin Fire Brigade and the garda síochána [Irish police force] in Swords, the damage was limited to burns on the front doors of these properties in the Swords area,” a spokesperson for the airline explained.
“Ryanair is one of the largest employers in the Swords area, and it’s difficult to understand what these ‘morons’ thought they would achieve by this arson attack on rental properties and our hardworking employees,” the statement added.
“None of the properties suffered serious damage, and thankfully none of Ryanair’s employees were harmed in any way, although some are understandably unnerved by this senseless arson attack on the homes of hardworking young people.”
The Irish union, Fórsa, which represents some Ryanair cabin crew, condemned the attack and expressed its “deep concern” for the cabin crew caught up in the incident.
The union said the attack “represents a shocking and serious threat to the safety and well-being of workers. Many of those affected were present at the time and have understandably been left distressed and shaken by the experience.”
“Given the targeted nature of the attack, the absence of an arrest, and the lack of clarity around motive, Fórsa believes there is a continuing potential risk to those residing in the affected properties,” Fórsa’s national secretary Hazel Nolan commented.
Ryanair has promised to install surveillance cameras and is stepping up around-the-clock security.
