What can I do if Aer Lingus flight is cancelled over strike & will I get refund?

AER LINGUS customers could face cancellations or delays as they prepare to jet off on their summer holiday due to a major strike. 

People have been warned as Aer Lingus pilots voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action yesterday. 

Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) members have warned airline bosses to “come to their senses” as just under 98 per cent of its pilots voted in favour of industrial action amid the ongoing pay disputes. 

All Aer Lingus passengers might have to contend with possible strikes ahead of their summer holidays. 

If a strike does go ahead, it could cause chaos for passengers this summer, with the airline’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty saying the move would have a “severe impact” on customers.

Speaking to RTE, Mr Moriarty said such an impact would be “inevitable” as the result of such action would be a large number of flight cancellations.

And he also insisted that Aer Lingus would “do everything possible both to refund customers and to arrange alternative transport for them to get to their destination”.

Under EU Regulation 261, Aer Lingus must offer their customers a refund or a rerouting on the next available flight or at a later date.

And the claims are valid for up to six years retrospectively. 

Passengers are also entitled to assistance at the airport.

Aer Lingus should also ensure refreshments, food, accommodation, transport to and from your accommodation and return to the airport, and two telephone calls, telex, fax messages, or emails. 

The airline should reimburse you if assistance is not offered and you have covered the costs.

Passengers are being advised to keep all receipts for this purpose. 

You only have the right to assistance if you have to wait for rerouting, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit or decline assistance if it would cause further delay to passengers waiting for an alternative or a delayed flight.

Captain Mark Tighe said members will announce in due course what action this will include, but he said they want to avoid industrial action, which could lead to widespread travel disruption for holidaymakers this summer.

He added: “We want to avoid industrial action, we want management to come to their senses.

“Talks are ongoing, but he said they are currently ‘stuck’ on an annual cost of less than €3 million for an existing pilot agreement.”

Aer Lingus pilots are seeking wage hikes of over 20 per cent after rejecting a pay rise brokered at the Labour Court.

The Labour Court recommended that pilots receive pay increases of 9.25 per cent, but this did not go far enough for the pilots.

Ialpa had recommended that pilots vote in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action.

Ialpa said Aer Lingus had indicated that no further discussion could take place without the union agreeing to productivity changes to increase the pay offer.

The union said: “Aer Lingus expressed a wish to return to a third-party mediator or the WRC which was rejected by Ialpa in favour of direct negotiations.

“Ialpa views direct negotiations as the best way forward considering 20 months of process have concluded without agreement.”

The union has said that previous pay offers do not reflect the impact of inflation, the large profits being made by Aer Lingus, or the sacrifices made by pilots during the pandemic in order to save the company.