Aer Lingus passengers face anxious wait to see if flights are hit by pilot action

Aer Lingus chief corporate affairs officer Dónal Moriarty said last night that the company is currently assessing the likely impact of the work-to-rule action announced by pilots due to a pay dispute.

He said the airline will begin communicating with passengers about the action via a notice on its website. However, he said it was too early for Aer Lingus to determine which flights might be hit from next week.

The work-to-rule announced by the pilots is indefinite and begins just after midnight on Wednesday. Thousands of passengers will be hit by the unrest.

Mr Moriarty said there will be a “significant impact” to its schedule and passengers.

The escalation of a pay dispute with Aer Lingus management comes at the busiest time of year for the airline, as families look forward to their summer holidays.

The work-to-rule will see pilots refusing to work on days off, declining overtime and not answering calls or accessing electronic crew portals outside of work hours. That will hit flights at a time of year when airlines rely on pilot flexibility to ensure the smooth running of summer schedules.

The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) has warned the unrest could intensify and hasn’t ruled out strike action.

Pilots and Aer Lingus management have been locked in efforts to seek a pay deal for almost two years.

Pilots want a near 24pc pay increase. Aer Lingus has offered a 12.25pc rise, while last month, the Labour Court 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.

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“We are in this position because management have failed to provide us with a meaningful offer on pay that accounts for inflation and the sacrifices made by pilots to save Aer Lingus during the pandemic,” said Ialpa president Captain Mark Tighe.

He added: “Management keep insisting that pilots must sell their working conditions in exchange for any increase in pay. We are absolutely not prepared to do that, especially when Aer Lingus is making enormous profits.”

Mr Tighe insisted the union’s pay claim is “entirely affordable”.

“Aer Lingus management need to quickly change position if they want to avoid this dispute escalating,” he said.

Aer Lingus – part of the IAG group that also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling – described the industrial action as “entirely unnecessary,” saying it “will inevitably result in significant disruption to our customers and to other employees”.

About 40,000 passengers fly with Aer Lingus every day during the summer. That includes 14,000 transatlantic customers and 26,000 on its short-haul services across Europe.

“Profitability levels in Aer Lingus are the lowest in the IAG group,” according to the airline. It added that using profits to pay “exorbitant increases to already very well-paid pilots is simplistic in the extreme”.

While Aer Lingus pilots say they haven’t had a pay increase since 2019, they continue to earn more money every year by advancing through lucrative pilot pay scales.

Aer Lingus said it had offered to continue to engage in “meaningful direct discussions on productivity and flexibility proposals,” with a view to raising its pilot pay proposal.

“Aer Lingus also offered to request the support of the Workplace Relations Commission in order to further explore solutions,” it added. “Both of these offers were rejected by Ialpa.”