Aer Lingus confirms further flight cancellations

Updated 49 minutes ago

Aer Lingus has confirmed it is canceling a further 122 flights until July 7 due to ongoing pilot strike action.

The airline has now canceled nearly 400 flights as a result of indefinite compliance efforts and pilot strike action.

Work-to-rule means not working overtime or performing other duties outside of working hours.

An eight-hour strike is planned for Saturday from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time.

Aer Lingus said due to the “indefinite nature” of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association pilot strike, it “must cancel” further flights until July 7.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that the recommendation for an additional strike on Thursday had been issued by IALPA.

However, on Friday afternoon union president Captain Mark Tighe said the Irish Labor Court had invited both sides to the dispute to return to them on Monday afternoon.

“We are in the process of discussing that and that would obviously have a bearing on whether or not we escalate the industrial action,” he told Ulster Radio’s Evening Extra.

“I hope they have now realized the seriousness of the situation and will be able to apply their considerable expertise.”

A group of students and teachers from Shimna Integrated School in County Down, who were adjusting from a trip to Berlin, had their flight home canceled while they were at the airport.

Teacher Luke McWatters said their 9.45pm flight on Thursday initially appeared to be delayed and then, more than two hours after the flight was originally due to take off, they were told it had been cancelled.

“When I tried to ring Aer Lingus I had three different calls to three different agents who each time I got to a certain route they said ‘as you are a group we can’t do anything for you – you have to contact the Aer Lingus group who are open until 9:00 a.m.

Mr McWatters told the BBC’s Evening Extra that he felt they had been “left high and dry”, with no accommodation or food offered.

He said the group slept on the floor of the airport.

Mr McWatters said they had been offered an alternative flight on July 1.

“At that stage we called to try other airlines and split up as a group,” he added.

Half the group traveled to Edinburgh while the other half caught a flight to Poland, with both groups booking flights back to Ireland on Friday.

Mr McWatters said support for Aer Lingus “fell well short of what you would expect from a major airline dealing with children”.

The BBC has contacted Aer Lingus for a response.

Captain Tighe said: “Passengers are extremely valuable to us as pilots. Management does not meet with you, but every day.

“We’ve been left in a position where our salary is being cut and all we’re trying to do is maintain our salary.”

IALPA demanded a 24% pay rise for members.

Captain Tighe said the 24% increase was “cumulative of inflation from 2019, our last pay rise”.

He also said the union would not accept less than inflation.

IALPA has advised the Fórsa union that the additional strike should be longer than the action planned for Saturday, RTÉ reported.

If Fórsa is sanctioned, Aer Lingus will have to give seven days’ notice before pilots can stop work.

Aer Lingus described the potential for further strike action as “completely out of proportion to this week’s employment tribunal application not to escalate the dispute”.

Donal Moriarty, director of corporate affairs at Aer Lingus, said the airline was “willing to return to the employment tribunal on a formal joint recommendation”.

He said Aer Lingus had encouraged IALPA and Fórsa to “agree to this step”.

All Aer Lingus UK regional flights operated by Emerald Airlines and Aer Lingus UK transatlantic flights to and from Manchester will operate as scheduled.

A full list of canceled flights can be found on the airline’s website.

Co-pilots can start at around €36,000 (£30,400), with packages increasing according to actual flying hours.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that the top-flight captain could be paid around €287,000 (£242,000).

Captain Mark Tighe explained on Thursday that it could take up to 26 years.

For pilots, there are differences depending on whether the flights are short or long.

The airline said passengers with flights booked through July 7 have a number of options available.

Aer Lingus will contact passengers whose flight has been canceled directly by text, email or through their travel agent to advise them of their options.

These options include changing the date of your booking for free, requesting a refund voucher for a future trip or a refund for the full value of your flight.

If a passenger is scheduled to travel by July 7, but their flight has not been canceled, they can also rebook or request a refund voucher for future travel free of charge.

“We understand the frustration you must be feeling right now. Our teams are working hard to minimize disruption as much as possible,” Aer Lingus said.