Ryanair will force pilots to delay planned annual leave as it battles to overcome shortages in coming weeks.

The low-cost carrier said last week it would cancel as many as 50 flights a day until the end of October after misallocating pilot holiday until the end of the year.

Though Ryanair will only cancel around two per cent of its 2,500 daily flights, passengers were initially left confused as to exactly which departures would not now take place.

Speaking today at the Ryanair annual general meeting in Dublin, chief executive Michael O’Leary said pilots would be told to defer a week of holiday as it wrestles the cancellations.

He said pilots who had a four-week block of holiday coming up before the end of the year because of rota changes would be told to take three weeks instead.

The other week would then be allotted in January.

Blaming the situation on a “significant management failure”, O’Leary said the firm did not need pilots’ agreement for the change.

In better news for the carrier, the meeting saw shareholders approved all resolutions by substantial majorities.

The shareholder votes in favour of the financial report and the remuneration report were passed with increased majorities compared to 2016.