Aer Lingus: Airline cancels 124 flights as pilots announce strike

Aer Lingus has cancelled 124 flights in the first five days of the impending pilots’ industrial action.

Earlier this week, the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) announced permanent duty to rule from Wednesday 26 June amid an ongoing pay dispute.

On Friday, IALPA members at Aer Lingus announced they are now planning a strike for Saturday 29 June from 05:00 to 13:00 (BST).

In a statement, the airline said it was “appalled that IALPA would further escalate this industrial action after the insidious measures already announced.”

It said the strike was “clearly designed to cause maximum damage to passengers’ travel plans”.

Aer Lingus said it was working to keep disruption to passengers to a minimum.

On Thursday, the airline announced that it would have to cancel between 10 and 20 percent of flights in the first five days of the campaign.

The measure is expected to affect up to 40,000 passengers scheduled to fly with the airline between June 26 and July 2, and will see Aer Lingus cancel up to 44 flights a day.

Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable the company to “protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible”.

However, regional flights to and from Belfast and Great Britain during this period “will not be affected by any industrial action and will operate as planned,” the airline said.

Joe Giggs and his fiancée Chloe, from Donadea in County Kildare, will marry in Portugal on July 2.

He said: “We were due to fly to Lisbon with Aer Lingus on June 26 – I booked new flights with another airline on Monday for nearly €1,000.”

Mr Giggs’ biggest concern is for his wedding guests, who are due to fly out next week.

“Many guests have booked flights with Aer Lingus, so our closest family and friends may miss our wedding,” he added.

The couple planned and saved for the wedding for two years.

He said it was “heartbreaking” that many of his close friends and family members might not be able to see the big day.

He added: “Personally, I want pilots to be paid. I understand that they already earn a high salary compared to the average worker, but I will always try to support collective action and unions where I can.”

However, he added that he considered the timing of the action to be “deeply unfair.”

Judit Mateo, 20, from Barcelona, ​​is waiting to find out if her flight to Dublin will be affected by the industrial action.

She is scheduled to fly on Wednesday, June 26, to attend the Taylor Swift concert on Friday.

She said: “It was really stressful. I couldn’t concentrate at work because all I could think about was when I would know for sure whether I could go to the concert.”

Miss Mateo said she had tried to contact the airline but “they’re not answering the phone so I’m not really sure what I can do about it.”

She added: “I flew to Dublin to do the Eras show. I was going to see Taylor Swift for the first time ever, so this was a big deal.

“So far, all I know is that they are willing to rebook my flight tickets for another week, but since the concert is on June 28, that doesn’t work for me.”

She hopes that her flight, if affected, will be refunded in time to book with another airline. But if that doesn’t happen, she says, “I won’t be able to afford another plane ticket. So it’s going to be really hard for me if I don’t make it to Dublin in time.”

Aer Lingus said affected customers have several options available.

Anyone travelling abroad between June 26 and July 2 can rebook their flight free of charge, request a refund or have a voucher issued.

However, some customers fear that they will be “left in the dark”.

The airline said customers affected by flight cancellations will be contacted starting Friday.

99% of pilots who are members of IALPA were in favor of action, including a strike.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme on how long the ‘Work to Rule’ process would continue, IALPA President Captain Mark Tighe said it depended on Aer Lingus.

He said the talks had lasted 22 months, adding that the targeted 24% pay rise was a “cumulative increase in inflation over time”.

He explained on the show that while Aer Lingus pilots’ salary structure is similar to that of other airlines, the top end of the scale can only be reached after 26 years.

Aer Lingus said: “IALPA’s industrial action will have a completely unnecessary impact on customers travelling in the coming weeks, which is the peak family season.

“The nature of this industrial action will have a significant impact on our flight schedules.”