Up to 80,000 Aer Lingus passengers, including many intending World Cup visitors, have been affected by the company's withdrawal of almost all its services in response to pilots who struck in protest against new working rosters imposed by the airline.
After losing $200m last year and after Brussels had refused permission for additional support from the Government, the company embarked on a restructuring programme which has so far resulted in the agreed loss of more than 2,000 jobs, including 156 pilots. The company is budgeting to lose $25m this year, based on full implementation of the plan.
Willie Walsh, Aer Lingus chief executive, said on Wednesday the survival plan was "the absolute minimum we require to begin the process of bringing Aer Lingus forward". The new rosters form part of the plan but were resisted by pilots, seven of whom were suspended after refusing to operate them, leading to the strike.
On Friday, during a 10-hour meeting, the parties to the dispute agreed to refer the matter to the Labour Court, but Aer Lingus said that it would not be in a position to resume operations on Monday. This means that the airline will by then have been grounded for five days, without any announcement as to when flights will resume.
The general secretary of pilots' union IMPACT, Mr Peter McLoone, said: "I cannot understand why passengers should continue to be inconvenienced. We have planes, pilots and passengers in the airports and any threat of industrial action has been lifted while the Labour Court does its work. The only thing stopping planes from taking off is management's bizarre attitude."
The Government is putting pressure on the airline to get back in the air, as ministers worry about the impact of a sustained dispute on the tourist industry. Aer Lingus accounts for 40% of tourist arrivals, 60% of those from the US.
Paul O'Toole, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: "We have already lost 20% of direct capacity from the US this year and Irish tourism cannot afford to lose more air seats."
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