Major summer holiday travel warning for thousands as Aer Lingus set to strike

AER Lingus customers could face delays as they prepare to jet off on their holidays this summer.

People have been issued a warning as Aer Lingus pilots look set to vote in favour of a major strike.

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The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) confirmed on Wednesday that they would be holding a vote for industrial action.

Pilots have been pushing for around a 20 percent pay increase.

The IaIpa are pushing for pilots to vote in favour of a strike amid the ongoing pay disputes.

Pilots began voting on Wednesday and balloting will continue until June 12th.

If there is a yes vote on strike action it is possible that a one day strike may take place before the end of this month or early in July.

Pilots may also begin operating a work to rule meaning they would only operate what is laid out in their contracts.

Even this could cause delays, disruptions or cancelled flights as early as this month.

If a strike was to go ahead there would be a required seven days notice from the union to the company.

Aer Lingus operate over 100 routes from airports across Ireland including Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Knock.

They fly to 24 countries across Europe, North America and the Canary Islands.

Regardless of voting outcomes all sides are set to meet at some stage next week to discuss the issues and possibly avoid strike action.

Disputes have been ongoing between pilots, the airline and the labour court over claims that pilots have not have a pay increase since 2019.

Aer Lingus has challenged this stating there have been increments each year since then.

Pilots rejected the terms of a 9.5 percent pay increase from the Labour Court earlier this week.

Captain Mark Tighe has said the offers so far do not reflect the “enormous” profits of the airline.

He said: “Ialpa is seeking a pay increase of 23.8 per cent over three years, which is clearly reasonable and affordable for a profitable company such as Aer Lingus.”

Aer Lingus response

Aer Lingus have claimed that the pilots are already well paid

They stated: “The Labour Court issued an interim recommendation which was accepted by Aer Lingus and outlined a clear path forward for continued engagement on pilot pay with a view to resolving it.

“Pilots at the airline are already very will paid.”

The airline said that the Ialpa have sought an effective 27 per cent increase and rejected a three-year company pay tribunal offer.

This would be worth 12.25 per cent, with a 1.5 per cent bonus.

Disputes cause two airbuses that were originally intended for Ireland to be given to other companies within the International Airlines Group.