Thousands of passengers intending to travel with Aer Lingus over the coming week face huge uncertainty, with pilots set to begin their indefinite work to rule from Wednesday in a dispute over pay.
Little progress was made towards a resolution over the weekend.
Yesterday saw both sides in the Aer Lingus pay dispute accuse of each other of refusing to engage.
Management said it has written to pilots seeking direct discussion on pay but that any increases would be based upon reaching agreement on improvements in productivity and flexibility.
The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) has said that the 24% pay increase it is seeking for its members is based on cumulative inflation over recent years and that its members should not have to pay for their salary increase by agreeing to work practice changes.
Over the weekend Aer Lingus confirmed that at least 244 flights have been cancelled from this Wednesday to Sunday due to the industrial action being taken by IALPA.
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Next Saturday alone 120 flights have been cancelled, because of an eight-hour strike by pilots, which will impact 15,000 passengers.
This is in addition to the 124 previously announced cancellations resulting from a work-to-rule which begins on Wedensday.
