Aer Lingus passengers face more flight cancellations as talks break down

Travellers are set for further cancellations next week after talks aimed at resolving the Aer Lingus pilots dispute broke down on Thursday afternoon.

The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), which represents the pilots, said its executive would meet later on Thursday to consider stepping up industrial action. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty confirmed the airline was assessing cancellations needed from Wednesday, July 3rd, to counter the impact of the pilots’ ongoing work to rule.

Earlier, the sides met in a Dublin Airport hotel in a bid to hammer out a deal in the row that has already forced the carrier to cancel 270 flights into next week.

Discussions began to focus on what both sides called “technical issues” soon after the meeting began. Company sources maintained that this dominated talks during the morning, while union figures indicated there had been little progress.

Ialpa president, Capt Mark Tighe, had confirmed that both delegations had broken into smaller groups to deal with technical issues, although he did not outline what these were.

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Capt Tighe rejoined the talks shortly before 2pm after briefing representatives of British bank, Barclays, a shareholder in Aer Lingus’ owner, International Airlines Group (IAG).

Arriving at the meeting in the morning, Mr Moriarty had said the company hoped that meaningful talks could get under way on Thursday.

“There are things that need to be discussed with Ialpa if we are to agree to an increase of more than 12.25 per cent that other groups have accepted,” he said.

Capt Tighe responded that Aer Lingus was asking pilots to pay for their own increase, as he entered the talks.

“That’s hardly reasonable,” he had said, adding that the pair remained in negotiations.

Meanwhile, Ialpa members began their second day of an open-ended work to rule that has prompted the company to cancel flights to preserve as many services as possible.

Axed services on Thursday include a flight from Cork to Heathrow, along with 12 services from Dublin, including to Rome, Heathrow, Brussels and New York.

Pilots are seeking a 20 per cent plus pay rise, to compensate for inflation, while Aer Lingus maintains that it cannot offer anything above 12.25 per cent without a deal on extra productivity and flexibility.