Dozens of Aer Lingus flights are to be cancelled as a result of industrial action

Dozens of flights will have to be cancelled by Aer Lingus next week as its pilots stage industrial action – with little hope of a swift solution to the impasse. If the indefinite work-to-rule being started by pilots next Wednesday continues, then the number of cancellations will only increase. Despite this, an intervention by the Labour Court or Workplace Relations Commission this weekend is considered highly unlikely, because the airline and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) are described as being “poles apart”. Aer Lingus is now scrambling to get additional seat capacity in an effort to re-accommodate passengers who will be hit by the action. It is trying to lease aircraft on a short-term basis to help it cope with the unrest. But the airline is unlikely to know until early next week what type of extra capacity it can secure. During the summer, Aer Lingus operates around 1,550 flights a week, or approximately 220 a day. It is now attempting to hire aircraft on so-called wet leases, where the aircraft are rented with a crew. The airline is trying to lease wide-body jets – the type of aircraft usually used on long-haul routes – to re-accommodate more passengers.<br/>