An employment tribunal has dismissed race discrimination claims brought by Ademilola 'Lola' Odujinrin, a pilot who became the first African to fly solo around the globe. Odujinrin was sacked by Ryanair for failing to report safety issues and for attempting to avoid blame for his own failings.
The tribunal found that the sole reason for Odujinrin's dismissal was his conduct, specifically the under-reporting of safety issues on two flights and his failure to accept responsibility for this. Employment Judge David Massarella described Odujinrin's explanation for a prior no-show in December 2020 as "fanciful" and indicative of a pattern of seeking alternative explanations and deflecting blame.
Odujinrin, who is Black and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, had claimed that disciplinary actions against him were racially motivated. His claims for race discrimination were dismissed, though his claims for victimisation and unfair dismissal were successful due to procedural errors made by Ryanair during the termination process.
Odujinrin completed his record-breaking nine-month solo flight across five continents in a single-engine aircraft in 2017. He began working for Ryanair in February 2019, based at London Stansted. His promotion to Captain, which he stated was delayed due to his "unusually experienced" background, was also impacted by limited Captain positions and a prior mark on his record for failing to report for duty in December 2020.
At that time, Odujinrin had blamed his failure to set his alarm on an incident two days prior, where he alleged a training Captain had repeatedly burped towards him, lightly struck him on the head, and called him "baldy." His grievance and appeal regarding this were rejected.
In November 2023, Odujinrin again failed to report for duty, causing significant flight delays. The tribunal heard that he "accepted no responsibility, was evasive, obstructive, and attempted to deflect blame onto the company." The incident, along with failing to report duty without acceptable reason, unnecessarily delaying passengers, and breach of trust, were considered gross misconduct under Ryanair's policy. He received a final written warning in December 2023, which was upheld on appeal.
Odujinrin's defence at the tribunal included claims that his roster made him tired, leading to overexertion at the gym and a subsequent inability to wake up due to ibuprofen. The tribunal noted that Odujinrin conceded Ryanair was not at fault for his gym overexertion.
Furthermore, Odujinrin failed to accurately record safety issues on two flights between 2023 and 2024, which included piloting mistakes. His accounts of these incidents shifted during the proceedings.
He was sacked in May 2024 for gross misconduct. The tribunal panel stated that the "failure to provide a full and frank account of the flights was a serious breach of trust in a safety-critical industry."
Despite the dismissal of his discrimination claims, Odujinrin's successful claims for unfair dismissal and victimisation were based on Ryanair's procedural failures, such as not providing him with an investigation report and the use of "reprimanding" language during his grievance appeal.