Aer Lingus cancels 50 further flights amid hopes Labour Court talks with pilot union will yield progress

The airline said this was being done to “protect as many services as possible” from industrial action planned by pilots in relation to a pay dispute.

“Implementing these cancellations is to enable us to protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible,” a spokesperson said.

“These cancellations will be implemented today and details will be communicated to impacted customers. Details of the services impacted are set out on ‘travel advisory’ page of aerlingus.com.”

The airline said that passengers due to travel between Wednesday, June 26, and next Tuesday, July 2, will continue be given the option to change their flights for free, to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher.

“Aer Lingus fully understands the anxiety being experienced by customers given the uncertainty caused by IALPA’s industrial action and is giving customers as many options as possible, should they wish to change their plans,” they added.

This comes as Aer Lingus executives attended the Labour Court this morning at 11 o’clock amid efforts to de-escalate and resolve a now toxic pay dispute between the airline and its pilots.

Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) and its umbrella union, Fórsa, are set to separately attend the Labour Court at 2pm today.

On Monday, the Labour Court invited the two sides to give separate updates on their respective positions in the dispute, which this week will see tens of thousands of Aer Lingus customers have their travel plans severely disrupted.

Pilots are due to start an indefinite work-to-rule on Wednesday, while they’ll also stage an eight-hour strike on Saturday.

The Labour Court invitations to the airline and pilots came amid intensifying political pressure to resolve the dispute. While disruption caused by the pilots’ industrial action will hit holiday and other plans for leisure and business travellers, it will also have significant consequences for the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Ialpa, headed by president Mark Tighe, is seeking a near 24pc pay increase for its members at Aer Lingus. It says that reflects the erosion of pay packets since 2019 due to inflation.

Aer Lingus has offered the pilots 12.25pc – in line with the pay increases it has already agreed with other staff members.

An independent pay tribunal last year recommended a 12.25pc increase in consolidated pay and a 1.5pc rise in unconsolidated pay for the pilots.

The Labour Court recently recommended an interim 9.25pc pay increase. That proposal was accepted by Aer Lingus but overwhelmingly rejected by pilots.

An independent pilot pay tribunal last year recommended a a 12.25pc increase in consolidated pay and a 1.5pc rise in unconsolidated pay for the pilots.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

Aer Lingus has previously said that while it was open to re-engaging in talks with the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, it has insisted that changes to productivity and flexibility had to form a basis to such discussions if the airline was to move beyond the 12.25pc pay rise it has already offered.

Ialpa has insisted that yielding to productivity and flexibility changes would mean pilots end up paying for their salary increases. It is also understood to have said that it has no mandate from its member to negotiate any such changes.

Even if any advances were made in discussions, the airline won’t be able to undo the swathe of cancellations it’s already put in place for this week.

Aer Lingus is cancelling at least 244 flights between Wednesday and Sunday. That includes 120 that have been axed on Saturday due to the strike action that day, hitting 15,000 passengers.

Some passengers might not find out if their flights are cancelled until the reach the departure gates.

It’s understood Aer Lingus has secured two Airbus A320 single-aisle jets on a so-called wet lease that will be used to serve destinations including Prague, the Greek islands and Malaga. It has also secured one Boeing 777 long-haul jet that will be used on transatlantic services, mainly to Chicago. A wet lease is where an airline rents a jet and crew to fly it.

During the summer, Aer Lingus operates about 1,550 flights a week, or approximately 220 a day. It normally carries about 40,000 passengers a day during what is its busiest time of year.