LONDON (AP) — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary will face shareholders at the company's annual general meeting amid a pilot shortage that has forced the budget airline to cancel hundreds of flights.

Thursday's meeting comes amid reports that flight captains and first officers have rejected Ryanair's offer of bonus payments in exchange for making commitments to the airline. The airline says it will cancel as many as 50 flights a day for six weeks because it "messed up" when scheduling crew holidays.

The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association said 140 Ryanair pilots left for Norwegian Air in recent months.

Compensation for passengers forced to re-book could reach 20 million euros (17.7 million pounds). Passengers meanwhile are reporting problems in gaining compensation for cancelled flights, inundating the firm's Facebook page with complaints.