Ryanair has dismissed its chief pilot after he was allegedly found to have been sending sexually explicit text messages to junior female staffers as young as 21 years of age, including compliments on their “great body” and “amazing ass,” according to reports.
Aidan Murray, 58, who has been the most senior pilot at the Irish carrier for the past three years, was let go on Tuesday after company officials found that he engaged in a “pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behavior” toward female colleagues at the firm, the Financial Times reported.
Murray, who is reportedly married, is alleged to have quizzed the female staffers about their love life and sexual activity.
On at least two occasions, he asked staffers to send photos of themselves while promising that they would not be revealed to anyone, according to The Times of London.
Murray was also found to have been “grooming” female cadet pilots between the ages of 21 and 32 by offering help in furthering their careers, it was reported by The Times of London.
That included allegedly altering flight schedules so that he would share a cockpit with junior female pilots that were among his “pet favorites,” according to reports.
At least two junior pilots told company investigators that Murray gave them pats on their rear ends in the office as well as in a parking lot, the UK-based publications reported.
The Times of London reported that the relationships between Murray and the female cadet pilots never progressed to a sexual nature, but the alleged victims made it clear that they felt things were headed in that direction.
Murray, who was interviewed three times as part of the company’s investigation, reportedly refused to cooperate, declaring the probe a “witch hunt,” The Times of London reported.
When presented with evidence of his text messages, Murray is alleged to have claimed that he was intoxicated at the time he sent them, according to the report.
Murray is also alleged to have contacted several of his victims and urged them not to cooperate with the probe, The Times of London reported.
The airline has told the alleged victims that it would support them if they decided to press criminal charges against Murray, according to the report.
“We regret to advise all of you that last evening we terminated with immediate effect the employment of the Ryanair DAC chief pilot (who was appointed in 2020),” the company told staffers in an email announcing the dismissal.
“This decision follows an investigation over recent days which identified a pattern of repeated inappropriate and unacceptable behavior towards a number of female junior pilots, which was in breach of our anti-harassment policy.”
“We are determined to ensure that all our people can come to work in a safe and secure environment,” the company told employees.
Murray was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told The Post: “We do not comment on queries relating to individual employees.”
This story originally appeared on NYPost
