Aer Lingus: Airline cancels 80 more flights amid pilots 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%.