40,000 passengers are affected by Friday's Ryanair strike in six European countries.

Cabin crew in Germany, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, as well as pilots in Germany, are participating in Friday's strike.

Employees at Europe's largest low-cost carrier have recently gone on strike several times since they were allowed to organize in unions in December.

Friday's canceled flights account for about 10 percent of today's 2,400 scheduled flights.

The airline says significant progress has been made in negotiations in recent weeks, including signing collective agreements with staff in Ireland, the UK, Italy and Germany.

”These strikes show that Ryanair, despite its recent claims, has a long way to go,” said Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez, of the international transport union ITF, in a statement.

”You can’t claim that negotiations are going well when workers in six countries choose to strike at the same time,” he adds.

Source: TT