Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is aiming to try and resolve its staff shortage crisis by staging a recruitment roadshow in Dubai this month, offering new pilot recruits a €10,000 ($11,815) bonus if they sign on the dotted line.

The Dublin-based airline on September 15 announced plans to cancel between 40 and 50 flights per day due to staffing and roster issues, affecting more than 700,000 customers over the coming months, according to Reuters reports.

While Ryanair attributed the cancelations to too many pilots taking holidays at the same time, Scandinavian carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle last month said it had recruited more than 140 pilots from its Irish rival, as it looks to ramp up its operations ahead of plans to set up a new base in Dublin later this year.

Ryanair has now launched a recruitment drive for new pilots, with Dubai among the global destinations targeted as part of its upcoming roadshows.

According to the official Ryanair careers website, the event will take place on October 10 at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach hotel, with four presentations throughout the day.

The airline is looking to recruit Boeing 737-rated captains and officers and, according to the online advert, “will be discussing opportunities at bases throughout our network, including the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Poland etc”.

In a bid to entice Dubai-based pilots to switch to the Irish carrier, it is offering those qualified a signing bonus of €10,000 during a seven-month period between October 1, 2017 and April 30, 2018.

According to a Reuters report last year, Ryanair pays its captains €150,000-180,000 ($177,235 - $212,682) a year, while first officers earn €80,000-120,000 ($94,525 - $141,788). “We may have got pilot pay a little on the low side,” Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary was quoted as saying at Ryanair’s annual general meeting last month.

It was reported in May that Dubai’s Emirates pays its A380 and B777 captains from around 705,240 UAE dirhams ($191,948) a year, plus benefits such as medical insurance and education allowance for their children, with A380 and B777 first officers starting from 533,400 UAE dirhams ($145,177).

© Zawya 2017