Aer Lingus: More flights cancelled due to dispute over pilot salaries

Updated 1 hour ago

The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) will suspend industrial action at Aer Lingus.

The IALPA board met on Wednesday and recommended that members accept a labor tribunal’s proposal to increase pilot salaries by 17.75%.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled so far due to strikes last month and a go-slow that began two weeks ago as part of a long-running dispute over union pay.

On Monday, the labor court recommended a salary increase for pilots of 17.75% over a period of four years.

The court recommended that the increase be granted as follows:

Following a meeting on Wednesday evening, the IALPA Board voted to accept the Labor Court’s recommendation.

In a statement, IALPA said the pilot body would “immediately suspend the work-to-rule measures that have been in place since June 26, pending the outcome of a vote.”

The union announced that it would hold a series of talks with its members in the coming weeks before voting on the terms of the Labour Court’s recommendation.

IALPA President Mark Tighe called the salary increase proposed in the recommendation a “significant victory for pilots.”

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Aer Lingus said it welcomed the “recommendation of Fórsa and IALPA to accept the Industrial Court’s recommendation and the decision to discontinue industrial action”.

“We look forward to IALPA completing the voting process as quickly as possible.”

The labor court’s recommendation also includes the abolition of salary scales for 2022, the cancellation of an agreement on duty rosters and summer vacation, and the cancellation of a debt owed by the pilots to the company under that agreement.

Aer Lingus announced on Wednesday that a further 25 flights would be cancelled due to pilot strikes.

The cancellations affect Monday, July 15th and Tuesday, July 16th.

The airline said it expected to announce further cancellations on Thursday morning, with details of the cancelled flights available on its website.

Aer Lingus says customers whose flights are cancelled will be contacted directly.

Travel agencies will also be contacted.

A statement said: “Customers affected by these recent cancellations will be given the opportunity to change their flights free of charge. They can also request a refund or voucher.”