Aer Lingus flights face disruption as pilots take industrial action

Aer Lingus flights are set for “significant disruption” from next week after the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) announced it would take industrial action as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

IALPA said it would impose a strict “work to rule” policy from 26 June for members working for Aer Lingus. This means that pilots will not work overtime and reject requests from the airline to change their rosters.

The move comes after 99 per cent of IALPA members voted to take industrial action in the dispute. The union is seeking a 20 per cent pay rise for its Aer Lingus members.

In a statement, the IAG-owned airline said that the industrial action called by IALPA was “entirely unnecessary”.

“Aer Lingus will assess the impact of the full detail of the industrial action served by IALPA, including the strict ‘work to rule’ that they have outlined,” said Aer Lingus.

“It will inevitably result in significant disruption to our customers and to other employees. Aer Lingus will do everything possible to minimise the disruption to customers, but unfortunately a significant level of disruption is inevitable.” 

The airline added that it had asked IALPA to give at least 15 days’ notice of any industrial action to allow it more time to make alternative arrangements for passengers. But this request was declined by the union, which is only legally required to give seven days’ notice.

“With a view to avoiding industrial action, Aer Lingus offered to continue to engage in meaningful direct discussions on productivity and flexibility proposals to enable increased pay,” said Aer Lingus.