Aer Lingus cancels 80 more flights amid pay row

Aer Lingus has announced that a further 80 flights have been cancelled amid continuing industrial action by pilots over pay.

The airline said the cancellations, between 11 July and 14 July, will allow it to "protect as many services as possible".

In a statement, it said impacted passengers would be contacted by the airline regarding refund and rebooking options.

The pilots, who are represented by the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (Ialpa), began staging their indefinite work-to-rule protest on 26 June.

It means they are not working overtime or carrying out any other out-of-hours duties.

On Wednesday Aer Lingus announced 76 flight cancellations between next Monday and Wednesday.

The dispute has so far led to hundreds of flight cancellations and has disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers.

On Saturday Aer Lingus pilots who are members of Ialpa took part in an eight-hour strike.

Pilots initially demanded a 24% pay rise, arguing their pay has not kept up with high inflation levels since their last pay increase in 2019.

However, Aer Lingus is reportedly seeking changes to the pilots' working conditions before it will agree to any pay rise above 12.25%.

An Irish Labour Court hearing aimed at resolving the dispute was held last week, but broke down without agreement.

Ialpa said it had offered to move from its 24% pay demand but accused the company of failing to reciprocate.

Last Friday the Labour Court issued a fresh invitation to the two parties to attend a meeting on Monday.

Representatives from Aer Lingus and Ialpa attended the meeting, which lasted more than eight hours, and are awaiting a recommendation from the court.

The court has asked that there be no escalation of the dispute, but the current work-to-rule by Ialpa members remains in place.

Aer Lingus has said customers impacted by the latest cancellations will be given the option to change their flights for free.

They will also be able to claim a refund or voucher, the airline said.

These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers.

"Aer Lingus fully understands the anxiety being experienced by customers, given the uncertainty caused by Ialpa's industrial action and is giving impacted customers as many options as possible," the airline said.

Further details of the services impacted are set out on the Aer Lingus website.