More flights with Aer Lingus are to be cancelled following continued industrial action from the airlines' pilots.
Hundreds of Aer Lingus pilots have been striking in the past days and have marched at Dublin Airport as part of the ongoing dispute about pay. Industrial action was launched on June 26 and on June 29 an eight hour strike began at 5am. Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 120 flights on the Saturday, impacting around 15,000 travellers.
In a statement, a spokesperson from Aer Lingus said: “In order to continue to protect as many services as possible from the impact of IALPA’s continuing industrial action, Aer Lingus has had to take the step of cancelling 122 additional flights over the course of Wednesday 3rd July to Sunday 7th July (inclusive).
"Implementing these cancellations is to enable us to protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible. These cancellations will be implemented today, and details will be communicated to impacted customers. Details of the services impacted are set out on the ‘Travel Advisory’ page of aerlingus.com.
Are you currently stuck in another country as your Aer Lingus flight was cancelled? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
"Customers impacted by these latest cancellations between 3rd July and 7th July will be given the option to change their flights for free. They will also be able to claim a refund or voucher. These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus ‘Travel Advisory’ page will also have up to the minute information on all the options.
"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 Irish Airline Pilots' Association (ILAPA) had called for a 24% pay increase for its members.
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), many travellers have been left confused or spending more money in order to fly. One user stated: "My original flight was cancelled and I had to book a new flight, I was told I would be reimbursed for the fare difference. Our new flight cost us €772. As you can appreciate this is a lot of money. Can you please advise how long it will take to get our money back?"
Another angered traveller said: "You have RUINED my trip. I travelled from Australia to attend a wedding in cork and due to your failure to perform the services I paid you for I have missed the ceremony."
Other users expressed their frustration for not being able to talk to a real human, with one stating: "Hello, I am trying to get through to your call centre to update advanced passenger information. There does not seem to be an option to speak to somebody. Please can you help."
One user questioned: "I’m still waiting for resolution of my case/refund. My flight is due to leave on Tuesday and I’m concerned if we’re a no-show it’ll impact our refund request after we rebooked with another airline. Can I please just talk to a human?"
Another added: "I’m getting really frustrated at trying to contact you. I’ve now been scammed on X from someone impersonating you asking me to use Remitly to process a refund. How can I talk to someone?"
Whilst it is unclear when the disruption to Aer Lingus flights will end, flights up to and including July 7 will be impacted.
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