Hundreds of flights between England and Ireland cancelled due to pilots’ strike

MORE than 60 Aer Lingus flights between England and Ireland have been cancelled this week due to ongoing industrial action by pilots who are striking over pay.

The work-to-rule strike by the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) began at midnight on June 26, with pilots now refusing to work overtime, accept changes to working hours or accept management demands outside normal hours.

On Saturday 29 June, hundreds of Aer Lingus pilots began a further eight-hour strike, during which they marched around Dublin Airport.

Dressed in full uniform, the pilots set off at 6am from Aer Lingus headquarters at the airport and paraded past both terminals while holding placards and banners.

The strike ended at 1 p.m., when the pilots returned to work but continued to comply with work restrictions, which remain in place because, despite several rounds of negotiations between the airline and the union, the dispute remains unresolved.

Extensive discussions took place yesterday between Aer Lingus and IALPA, mediated by the Irish Employment Tribunal, which is attempting to resolve the pay dispute.

The union is demanding a 24% pay increase for its pilots, to reflect inflation since their last pay increase in 2019.

Aer Lingus is prepared to offer pay increases of 12.25% or more if “improvements in productivity and flexibility” are discussed.

Last week, Aer Lingus cancelled hundreds of flights to “minimise disruption to passengers” as industrial action took place, affecting more than 17,000 of its customers.

About 120 of these flights were cancelled during the pilots’ strike on Saturday, June 29.

This week, while negotiations are ongoing, the airline confirmed the cancellation of more than a hundred additional flights, including 33 flights from Ireland to England, which were due to operate between July 1 and 7.

The flights, which originated from Cork and Dublin airports, were due to land at London Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester airports.

During the same period, 29 other flights from the same airports in England to Ireland were cancelled.

“In order to continue to protect as many services as possible from the impact of IALPA’s ongoing industrial action, Aer Lingus has had to take the step of cancelling a further 122 flights,” the airline confirmed in a statement regarding this week’s cancellations.

“The implementation of these cancellations is intended to allow us to protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible,” they explained.

Customers affected by cancellations this week will be able to change their flights free of charge.

They will also be able to request a refund or voucher, the airline confirmed, while adding that it “understands that this has caused major disruption to both our customers and our flight schedules.”

The options available to those affected “will be communicated directly to affected customers and travel agents, while the Aer Lingus ‘Travel Advisory’ page will also contain up-to-the-minute information on all options,” the airline said.

“Aer Lingus fully understands the anxiety felt by customers given the uncertainty caused by IALPA’s industrial action and is offering affected customers as many options as possible,” they added.