Glimmer of hope for Aer Lingus passengers as airline and pilots’ union agree to Labour Court talks

However, it appears the sides are still far apart in the pay dispute, and delegations from the airline and the Irish Airline Pilots Association (Ialpa) will attend the State’s industrial relations body separately to brief officials.

Already the airline has cancelled around 220 flights between tomorrow, when an open-ended work-to-rule is set to begin, and Sunday, throwing the travel plans of more than 30,000 people into chaos ahead of the peak summer holiday season.

A day of full-scale strike action planned for Saturday has led to the cancellation of 120 flights alone.

The airline has been contacting passengers, offering them alternative flights or refunds, but some passengers might not find out if their flights are cancelled until they reach the departure gates.

Aer Lingus has accused the pilots of “insidious” action. Pilot union leaders have accused airline management of personally targeting them with a “campaign of antagonism” including threats of High Court action and allegations of an orchestrated spate of sickness absences, which the union vehemently denies.

Both the airline and members of Ialpa and the Fórsa union yesterday evening confirmed they would attend the talks.

In a statement, the airline said: “Aer Lingus has received a request from the Labour Court to attend a meeting on June 25 in order to provide a briefing to the court on the pilot pay dispute.

“Aer Lingus has confirmed that it will attend the meeting. Aer Lingus understands that Fórsa has received a request to attend a separate meeting with the court.”

A union delegation, including members of Ialpa and Fórsa, will also attend in the afternoon.

Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the talks, saying it was important that the dispute is resolved as quickly as possible.

There had earlier seemed little prospect of any talks taking place in the coming days in an effort to resolve the dispute at Aer Lingus with tomorrow’s open-ended work-to-rule looming.

It is understood Aer Lingus earlier said that while it was open to re-engaging in talks with the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), it reiterated that changes to productivity and flexibility have to form a basis to such discussions if the airline was to move beyond the 12.25pc pay rise it has already offered.

However, it’s believed that Ialpa has responded to Aer Lingus stating that it has no mandate from its members to negotiate on productivity and flexibility issues as part of their demands.

It is understood that those issues remain off the table for the union. That creates the spectre of an impasse that could see the summer season obliterated for the airline and result in travel chaos for weeks to come.

The pilot union is seeking a near 24pc pay rise for pilots. The Labour Court previously recommended an interim increase of 9.25pc, which was rejected by the pilots. An independent pilot pay tribunal last year also recommended 12.25pc and a 1.5pc increase in unconsolidated pay.

Even if talks were to resume this week, the airline won’t be able to undo the swathe of cancellations it has already put in place.

It is understood Aer Lingus has secured two Airbus A320 single-aisle jets on a so-called wet lease basis that will be used to serve destinations including Prague, the Greek islands and Malaga.

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – Tuesday June 25

It has also secured the wet lease of 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 around 40,000 passengers a day during what is its busiest time of year.

Ialpa president Captain Mark Tighe has said pilots are seeking to retain their previous pay, not to improve it. He insisted that the 24pc increase being sought is to reflect the impact of inflation on pilot salaries since 2019.

He also said the airline had become “very aggressive” in the past week in its actions towards pilots.

Dónal Moriarty, chief corporate affairs officer at Aer Lingus, said it was a possibility that passengers could arrive at the airport from tomorrow and find out their flight have been cancelled.

“That is a possibility, unfortunately. Because of the nature of the industrial action, there could be close-in cancellations caused by pilot unavailability and refusal to work to their contractual flexibility that they have, so that is absolutely possible,” he told RTÉ Radio.

“Aer Lingus is perfectly willing to engage in proposals that would see their pay increase additionally beyond 12.25pc, but we have to be able to talk about the things that can do that.”