Aer Lingus passengers to face around 122 more flight cancellations next week – The Irish Times

Around 20,000 more Aer Lingus passengers will face disruption next week when the airline cancels a further 122 flights as it continues to battle industrial action by pilots over pay.

Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association are on a work-to-rule campaign to secure a 20 per cent pay rise from the company.

Aer Lingus confirmed on Friday that it would cut 122 services over five days next week, from Wednesday July 3 to Sunday July 7, to preserve as many flights as possible in the face of pilot action.

The airline did not say how many customers would be affected, but the figure is expected to be around 20,000. At this time of year, Aer Lingus carries 40,000 passengers a day on 220 flights.

“These cancellations will be implemented today,” the airline said, adding that it would contact affected customers, while details would also be available on the travel advisory page of its website.

“Customers affected by these latest cancellations between 3 and 7 July will have the opportunity to change their flight free of charge. They will also be able to request a refund or a voucher,” Aer Lingus said.

The company will inform customers and travel agents of these options and publish the details on its website.

The latest announcement brings to 392 the number of flights canceled by Aer Lingus due to the pay dispute with its pilots.

It follows the failure this week of efforts to resolve the bitter dispute which included talks between the parties and separate meetings at the employment tribunal.

The pilots are demanding pay rises which they say will cost the airline less than €5m, but Aer Lingus maintains the bill could be around €40m extra a year.

The union began a work-to-rule this week and is planning an eight-hour strike on Saturday, June 29, which will force the airline to cancel a total of 270 flights through Tuesday, July 2.

Ialpa vowed to step up industrial action on Thursday after five hours of talks between the sides failed to break the deadlock.

Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected, but the airline maintains the cancellations are necessary to protect as many flights as possible.

Meanwhile, Fórsa, the union of which the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association is a part, has informed its other members at Aer Lingus that they are required to report to work as usual during Saturday’s strike and warned against participating in pickets or communicating with the media.

In guidance to the company’s more than 1,000 cabin crew, Fórsa assures staff that “our fellow pilots understand that cabin crew are required to work normally as they are not involved in the conflict “.

It clearly specifies that any staff who have not voted in favor of union action must work normally, even if this requires them to cross a strike picket.

It states that staff must report to work and, if their flight is canceled, make themselves available to be furloughed or perform other duties.

Captain Ed Sicher, president of the American Allied Pilots Association, which has 16,000 members at American Airlines, wrote to Ialpa this week to support the Irish organisation’s campaign.

American Airlines has just agreed to a 46% pay increase over four years with the pilots’ union.