Ryanair cancellations 'will affect women travelling for abortions'

Women travelling to the UK for safe abortions will be affected by mass Ryanair cancellations, a reproductive rights group has said.

Ryanair announced it would be cancelling up to 50 flights a day for the next six weeks, 150 of which are said to be from Dublin, potentially impacting women who travel out of Ireland and into the UK to have abortions.

Campaign group Need Abortion Ireland has offered help and advice to pregnant women who may be suddenly without a crucial flight to Britain.

It wrote on its Facebook page: “Ryanair's list of cancelled flights over the next six weeks include 150 from Dublin.

“This will affect hundreds of women who need to travel outside of Ireland to access an abortion, at huge financial and emotional expense.”

The post included a link to the Abortion Support Network, which provides financial assistance to women travelling from Ireland to have an abortion.

In the Republic of Ireland, the eighth amendment gives unborn babies the same rights as their mothers – effectively outlawing abortion.

To have safe terminations, women are forced to travel to the UK.

Need Abortion Ireland helps women in Ireland access abortions, by assisting with the cost of the pill, and providing text support on their helpline.

Meanwhile, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary apologised for the cancellations of thousands of flights after the company made a “mess” of staff holiday.

The budget airline faces paying out £17.7 million (20 million euro) in compensation to affected customers.