Dublin dance school going to World Cup hit with ‘total nightmare’ as Aer Lingus cancels flights

A team of 28 performers from Arkins Dance Company, based in the north inner city, was chosen to represent Ireland at the competition in Prague, which takes place from June 27 until July 6.

Alysia Arkins, who runs the academy, told the Irish Independent they’ve been scrambling to make alternative arrangements after their Aer Lingus flights for next week were cancelled.

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“We’re flying on Wednesday, but it’s been a bit of a nightmare. Our flight was cancelled, so we’ve had to pull the money together from parents, and my dad had to help out massively until we get a refund,” she said.

Aer Lingus passengers have begun finding out if their flights have been cancelled due to industrial action by pilots.

Dancers from the Arkins Dance Academy are now having to fly to Amsterdam and then to Prague, while others must fly to Paris and then on to Prague.

“We’re going with KLM airlines and Air France. It was the only other option to get there because we need to register on Wednesday evening,” Ms Arkins said. “The last few days have been a total nightmare.”

The group are hoping to get a refund as soon as possible for their trip and are super excited to represent the country at the World Cup in their new Ireland gear.

Arkins Dance Academy was founded 29 years ago by Francesca Arkins and has since been taken over by her choreographer daughter, Alysia, who is a mentor to more than 100 talented children at the academy.

“At our dance school, we provide a supportive environment for children from working-class families and broken homes, despite facing challenges such as gang feuds, violence, child trafficking, and addiction within our community,” she said.

Yesterday, Aer Lingus said it would have to cancel between 10pc and 20pc of flights in the first five days of a work-to-rule by members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA).

Up to 40,000 passengers could be affected by the cancellations from Wednesday, June 26.

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

“The details of those cancellations will be communicated to impacted customers over the next couple of days.”

Customers scheduled to travel between June 26 and July 2 will be given the option to change their flights for free, or cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher.