Peter Bellew wins Ryanair restraint of trade case

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Peter Bellew won Ryanair’s restraint of trade case in the High Court on 23 December 2019. The action concerned a 12-month restriction intended to prevent him working for a competing airline after leaving Ryanair. Mr Justice Allen found that the covenant was binding and supported by Ryanair’s interest in protecting sensitive commercial information, but held that it went too far. It covered European airlines beyond the low-cost sector and employment in any capacity, including roles that could not risk disclosure or use of protected information. The court therefore found the covenant void and unenforceable as an unjustified restraint of trade, and dismissed the action.