Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has been forced to cancel more than 200 flights, affecting around 40,000 passengers, after members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) voted in favour of an indefinite work-to-rule.
The move comes after the pilots rejected the airline’s 12.25% pay rise offer.
IALPA has argued that Aer Lingus, which posted an operating profit of €225m in 2023, can easily afford the 24% pay increase the pilots have requested, in line with inflation since the last pay rise in 2019.ext, available before paywall
However, the airline said the level of increase was “unsustainable” and that it was “not supported by any increases in productivity or flexibility.” It went on to say that its flight crews were “more than fairly compensated compared tothe market.”
Aer Lingus said in a statement that it was “appalled” by the escalation and that the strike was “clearly designed to inflict maximum damage on passengers’ travel plans.” It went on to accuse the IALPA of “blackmail” and said that it would work to minimise disruption to passengers. The airline has also offered to meet pilots in the run-up to the industrial action in a bid to resolve the dispute.
IALPA president Mark Tighe stated that the impasse in resolving the issue lay with the Dublin-based carrier. He said that Aer Lingus’s claims that they had “repeatedly sought” to engage with IALPA were “not accurate.”
The airline’s regional service to and from Dublin and George Best Belfast City airport will be unaffected as these are operated by the airline’s regional partner, Emerald Airlines.
The unresolved pay issue has also led Aer Lingus to be dropped by its parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), as the launch customer of the Airbus A321XLR. One aircraft, EI-XLR (c/n 11348), rumoured to be the first scheduled for delivery in September, had appeared wearing Aer Lingus livery on the tail and winglets. However, sister carrier Iberia has now been confirmed as the new launch customer.
