Ryanair has pleaded with pilots who have deserted the struggling airline to come back.
The budget airline has repeatedly denied that a shortage of pilots has prompted it to cancel around 700,000 flight bookings and more than 20,000 flights over this winter.
It also dismissed claims that disgruntled pilots have been leaving in droves, and said that it has been swamped by applications.


But last night it emerged that the airline is desperately trying to get former pilots to return, stressing that pay and working conditions have improved since they left.
The airline has emailed former Ryanair pilots and is also targeting pilots from other airlines including Jet2 and Norwegian on career networking sites.