After a 3-year investigation years over the legal status of hundreds workers (170) based at Orly Airport, EasyJet was ordered to pay up to €1.5m to the French labour healthcare public body. The orange airline was more precisely “accused of failing to declare workers in Orly between June 2003 and December 2006”.

Indeed, the French Labour Court may have set a precedent in the low-cost airline market. When I first reported the news, last year, fine estimations were between £200,000 and €10M. One can now ask what will happen to other airline who fail to accurately declare their workforce? Indeed, EasyJet is not the only company with French labour law violations, Ryanair is also facing important charges. The Irish budget airline is using the same principle than easyJet, taking advantage of the lower protection and charges of British Law/Irish law. Its business model does not include employment contract protection or a union. A French MP recently denunciated Ryanair model because of its “low cost” employer policy.