Aer Lingus cancels 120 flights next weekend due to eight-hour pilot strike

Aer Lingus has confirmed that 120 flights scheduled for next weekend will be cancelled due to an eight-hour pilot strike on 29 June.

An airline spokesman said this would affect 15,000 customers on short-haul flights.

Due to a previously announced, permanent work-to-rule law starting June 26 – which would not allow pilots to work overtime or overtime – the airline had to cancel 124 flights.

Aer Lingus said this would affect around 20,000 customers over the five days from Wednesday as the group is committed to accommodating people during the busy summer holiday period.

The pilots’ union had announced a strike from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. for June 29.

“After Ialpa escalated the industrial action by announcing an eight-hour pilot strike on Saturday 29 June, Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 120 flights that day,” an airline spokesman said.

“This affects 15,000 customers on Aer Lingus’ short-haul flights. Aer Lingus has rescheduled long-haul flights on 28 and 29 June to avoid the cancellation of these flights.

“Aer Lingus is automatically rebooking some customers on alternative flights and has begun emailing all other customers to notify them of the cancellations and advise them of their options to change their flight free of charge, request a refund or request a voucher.

“For details of the cancelled flights on 29 June, please see the ‘Travel Alert’ on the Aer Lingus website at aerlingus.com.

“Aer Lingus Regional flights operated by Emerald Airlines are unaffected by Ialpa’s strike and will operate as planned. Aer Lingus Regional flight numbers are in the range EI3000 – EI3999.”

The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), which represents the pilots, said it was “forced” to escalate the conflict after Aer Lingus management launched a “campaign of hostility”.

Ialpa President Captain Mark Tighe claimed the airline had sent “threatening letters” to association members.

“The scale of the flight cancellations expected for next week, as described by Aer Lingus, shows the extent to which the company relies on the flexibility and goodwill of its pilots,” he said.

Aer Lingus condemned the planned strike and said it was “appalled” by the escalation of the industrial action by Ialpa, which it said was “clearly designed to cause maximum damage to passengers’ travel plans”.

Ialpa is demanding a salary increase of 24%, which it says corresponds to inflation since the last salary increase in 2019.

Aer Lingus described the salary demand as unrealistic and stated that there had never been a collective agreement in Ireland that provided for such an increase.

On Friday, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said people needed to “take a step back from the brink” of conflict.