"People have a right to be worried': Cork travel agent says passengers facing uncertainty over Aer Lingus pay dispute

AER Lingus passengers face possible flight disruption from next week after the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of its intention to go on an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday, June 26.

Pilots have been seeking pay rises of almost 24%, which is at odds with a Labour Court recommendation last month of 9.5%.

IALPA says its claim equates to inflation since 2019, the last time Aer Lingus pilots had a pay rise, in which time, they say, the airline has increased its profits by 400%, to €255m last year.

Last weekend, members of the union voted in favour of the action by 99% of an 89% turnout.

The union’s decision means that once the action begins at one minute past midnight next Wednesday morning, pilots will not work overtime or out of contracted hours.

With Aer Lingus usually carrying in excess of 40,000 passengers per day across the summer months, the work-to-rule will not ground flights, but it will severely hamper the airline’s flexibility at its busiest time of year and could disrupt or cancel flights.

Pat Dawson, founder of Cork sports travel agency Dawson Travel, said the level of pay increase sought seemed hard to justify.

“With some pilots on €270,000 per year, a 24% increase seems a bit hard to understand, certainly the lower paid staff are due an increase, but given what the captains or otherwise are on, that seems a crazy increase.

“I would feel that common sense will eventually prevail and they will meet somewhere in the middle, but the what the full impact of this work-to-rule will be, we don’t rightly know yet, but members of the travelling public have every right to feel very worried,” he said.

Mr Dawson said he had spoken with several of his fellow travel agents over the course of the day and there was considerable concern about IALPA’s decision.

“It’s unsettling for everyone, it’s going to affect everyone in the industry,” he said.