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Relief at pilots’ strike breakthrough
THOUSANDS of air passengers between Britain and Ireland were breathing a sigh of relief this week after pilots called off a threatened strike which could have seen the airline’s entire fleet grounded.
Up to 15,000 passengers a day were facing disruption in a planned walkout by pilots over terms and conditions for staff working at Aer Lingus’s new base in Belfast.
The dispute would have seen all services between Britain and Ireland cancelled hitting the travel plans of thousands of passengers.
But the threat was averted after unions and management agreed an 11th hour deal over the weekend following more than 20 hours of protracted talks.
Michael Landers from the IMPACT trade union said the deal was one they could recommend to members.
And Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion said he was delighted with the outcome of the talks — especially for passengers.
The move was also greeted with relief by members of the Irish community in Britain booked on Aer Lingus flights for this week.
“It’s a real saviour,” said Paul Doran — who was travelling on an Aer Lingus flight between London and Dublin. “I’m going over for a wedding and if the strike had gone ahead I don’t know how I would have got there.
“The uncertainty had been really worrying as any other flights would have been hard to come by.
“I’m glad they’ve managed to see sense.”
Fellow passenger Marie Donovan said: “I’d been dreading having to rearrange flights especially as it was unclear over the weekend exactly what was going to happen.
“At least now I’m sure of getting to Ireland and back — but I don’t think this sort of thing does any good for Aer Lingus. It makes you think twice about booking if there’s the chance there might be a strike.”
If the dispute had gone ahead it would have cost Aer Lingus an estimated ?1million in lost revenue and severely dented its public image with passengers being forced to try to find alternative flights.
The airline had threatened to suspend any of its 480 pilots who refused to give an undertaking to agree to co-operate in the recruitment and training of candidates for its new base in Belfast.
In response the pilots threatened to walk-out — effectively grounding all flights.
But the two sides managed to reach an agreement following lengthy talks at Ireland’s Labour Relations Committee over the weekend.
The deal must now be put to a ballot of all the pilots but union leaders said they were confident it would be accepted.
The new base at Belfast is seen by management as a key part of plans to expand Aer Lingus’s network of routes over the next few years.
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