Aer Lingus flights set to be cancelled next WEEK as holiday hotspots to be hit

AER Lingus will cancel dozens of flights next week as its pilots stage industrial action amid a row over pay.

Irish holidaymakers have been left “very worried” over fears they may face delays, cancellations or financial penalties ahead of their flights this summer.

And the number of cancellations look set to increase if the indefinite work-to-rule, which will be started by pilots on Wednesday, continues.

Holidaymakers, who are preparing to jet off in the coming weeks, will not be impacted until the strike begins shortly after midnight on June 26.

During the summer, Aer Lingus operate around 1,550 flights each week.

The major airline is now scrambling to source additional seat capacity in an effort to accommodate passengers who will be hit by the action.

It is now attempting to hire aircraft on so-called wet leases, where the aircraft are rented with crew on a short term basis.

However, the airline is unlikely to know until early next week what type of capacity it can secure.

Due to regulatory issues, Aer Lingus aircraft cannot be flown by non-Aer Lingus pilots.

With the busy summer season well underway and most airlines close to fully booked, fears are growing that Aer Lingus may only be able to accommodate a low number of passengers affected by the strikes.

People have been warned that it’s likely around 95 per cent of passengers on any strike day will not be able to travel.

Aer Lingus Regional flights will not be affected by the industrial action.

They are operated by Emerald Airlines, a separate company whose pilots sealed a pay deal earlier this year, under a franchise agreement.

Transatlantic flights to and from Manchester are also set to be unaffected.

Passengers in Ireland, Europe, the United States and Canada are all set to be affected.

It’s understood that Aer Lingus will try and maintain some services on key routes such as Dublin to London Heathrow and Dublin to New York’s JFK.

On a strike day, those jetting off to sunny holiday spots in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and other countries in Europe are expected to be affected.

People hopping on a transatlantic flight to top cities in the USA such as Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Orlando, San Francisco, and Toronto will also likely be affected on strike days.

ADVICE FOR PASSENGERS

Yesterday, Aer Lingus issued fresh advice for passengers worried that their holidays may be affected by the strikes and warned that they have three options in the “unfortunate” event of a disruption.

If passengers who are impacted have made their booking directly with Aer Lingus or on the airline’s website, they will contact you and advise you of your option.

If affected passengers have booked through a third party (travel or online agent or another airline), Aer Lingus will notify the original sales agent of the change.

They advise contacting them to update your contact details.

If your flight is significantly delayed and you choose to travel, you are not entitled to a refund.

If the flight is cancelled, passengers can change their booking online, request a voucher for future travel or request a cash refund.

You can also check the exact status of your flight, or whether your flight has been cancelled.

Yesterday, the Chief Executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association urged people to “sit tight” and avoid cancelling their flights before finding out whether they are impacted by the strike.

Speaking to RTE’s Morning Ireland, Clare Dunne explained: “That’s really all we can do at this point.

“There’s not much point in cancelling and losing money on the basis that you might be disrupted, because we don’t know yet.”