Aer Lingus urges Dublin Airport to ‘learn’ from delays last summer

Aer Lingus has urged Dublin Airport and its European counterparts to “learn” from last year when delays caused havoc for travellers as the airline looks to capitalise on pent-up demand for travel while it continues its recovery from the damage wrought by the Covid-19 crisis. Surging passenger numbers combined with labour shortages caused significant delays at Dublin Airport last summer, catapulting the airlines and the airport into a political storm. Almost 1,000 people missed flights on the last Sunday in May. Aer Lingus’s parent, International Airlines Group, published its full year results for 2022 on Friday. They show Aer Lingus recorded an operating profit of E45m, bouncing back from a loss E338m in 2021. However, the results show the airline’s bottom line was still significantly behind pre-Covid 2019 when profits had hit E276m. Speaking on a conference call after the results were released, Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton said she was expecting Dublin Airport, as well as others around Europe, to be better prepared this year. “We’ll be ready,” she said, noting the airline brought on an additional 1,000 staff last year.<br/>