Aer Lingus has announced the cancellation of an additional 122 flights through July 7 due to ongoing industrial action by pilots. This brings the total number of canceled flights to nearly 400 leading to indefinite work-to-rule and strike action by pilots. The work-to-rule means pilots are not working overtime or performing any out-of-hours duties. An eight-hour strike is planned for Saturday from 5:00 am to 1:00 pm local time.
Aer Lingus stated that due to the “indefinite nature” of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) pilots’ industrial action, it “must cancel” more flights up to July 7.
RTÉ reported that IALPA recommended additional strike action on Thursday. However, on Friday afternoon, Capt. Mark Tighe, president of the union, mentioned that Ireland’s Labour Court invited both parties in the dispute to return on Monday afternoon. “We are in the process of discussing that and that of course would have relevance to whether or not we escalate the industrial action,” he told Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra program. “I’m hoping now that they have noted the seriousness of the situation and that they’ll be able to apply their considerable expertise.”
Talks between the union and Aer Lingus to resolve the ongoing pay dispute broke down without a resolution on Thursday.
School Pupils ‘Slept on Floor’
A group of students and teachers from Shimna Integrated School in County Down, returning from a trip to Berlin, had their flight home canceled while they were at the airport. Teacher Luke McWatters said their 9:45 pm flight on Thursday was initially shown as delayed, and more than two hours after it was due to take off, they were informed it was canceled.
“Trying to ring through to Aer Lingus, I was on three different calls to three different agents who, every time I got to a certain way through, said: ‘Because you’re a group we can’t do anything for you – you have to contact group Aer Lingus, who don’t open until 9 am.’”
McWatters told the BBC’s Evening Extra program that he felt they had been “left high and dry,” with no offer of accommodation or food. The group ended up sleeping on the airport floor and was offered an alternative flight on July 1.
“At that stage, we made the call to try other airlines and split ourselves up as a group,” he added. Half of the group traveled to Edinburgh, while the other half caught a flight to Poland, with both groups booked on flights back to Ireland on Friday. McWatters said the support from Aer Lingus “fell very short of what you would expect from a major airline dealing with children.” The BBC has contacted Aer Lingus for a response.
‘Reasonable Pay Claim’
Capt. Tighe stated, “Passengers are extremely dear to us as pilots. Management doesn’t meet you; we do every day. We’ve been left in a position where our pay is being eroded, and all we’re looking to do is maintain our pay.”
Speaking to BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster program on Friday, Tighe said the union had offered to accept less than an inflationary rise to resolve the dispute. “We don’t believe anybody should be getting less than inflation, but yesterday, in an effort to resolve this, we said we would accept less than inflation.” However, he added, “We believe inflation is a very reasonable claim in this current time.”
Additional Strike Action?
IALPA had recommended to trade union Fórsa that the additional strike should be longer than the action planned for Saturday, according to RTÉ. If sanctioned, Fórsa will have to give seven days’ notice to Aer Lingus before pilots can stop work.
Aer Lingus has described the potential for further strike action as “entirely inappropriate given the request of the Labour Court this week that the dispute should not be escalated.” Donal Moriarty, Aer Lingus’ chief corporate affairs officer, said the airline is “willing to go back to the Labour Court on a formal joint referral basis.” He encouraged IALPA and Fórsa to “agree to this step.”
Flight Cancellations
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.
Aer Lingus Pilot Pay
Co-pilots can start out at about €36,000 (£30,400), with packages increasing based on actual flying hours. According to RTÉ, a captain at the top of the scale can earn about €287,000 (£242,000), which can take up to 26 years to achieve. Pay varies depending on whether flights are short-haul or long-haul.
What to Do If Your Aer Lingus Flight Is Canceled
Aer Lingus has said passengers with flights booked up to July 7 have several options. The airline will contact passengers whose flights are canceled directly via SMS, email, or through their travel agent to advise them of their options. These include changing the date of the booking free of charge, applying for a refund voucher for future travel, or getting a full refund for the flight’s value.
Passengers scheduled to travel until July 7 whose flights have not been canceled can also change their booking free of charge or apply for a refund voucher for future travel.
“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.
