Ryanair strike December 2017 suspended: Pilots in Ireland cancel walkout days ahead of Christmas

Ryanair pilots have suspended a planned strike which was set to take place just days before Christmas.

The Impact union, which represents pilots in Ireland, has agreed to meet Ryanair's management on Tuesday ahead of the planned action on Wednesday.

The budget airline said it would recognise unions for the first time as it also faces challenges from staff in Germany, Portugal, Britain and Italy.

It is the only time that the airline’s boss, Michael O’Leary, has extended such an invitation to union leaders in the 32 years that Ryanair has been in business.

In a statement released on Sunday, a union spokesman said: "Impact has this evening suspended a planned one-day strike of Ryanair pilots next Wednesday after company management agreed to recognise the union as the representative of Irish-based pilots.

"The union has agreed to meet management on Tuesday evening, but says it is available to meet sooner.

"The union asked management to release its Ryanair pilot representatives to prepare for and attend the meeting.

"The union acknowledged the principled determination of Ryanair pilots."

Ryanair's chief operations officer, Peter Bellew, confirmed the planned meetings in a social media post on Saturday, saying "let's keep talking".