Mediation in Aer Lingus dispute runs late in bid to avoid more cancelled flights

Aer Lingus and pilots remained at the Labour Court late on Monday as efforts were made to avert further travel disruption amid the busy summer period. The airline and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) returned to the dispute resolution forum at 2.30pm on Monday in a bid to end the bitter industrial dispute. Both sides had blamed the other for prolonging the stand-off that has led to almost 400 flights being cancelled and disrupted tens of thousands of passengers’ travel plans. Monday’s mediation was focused on restarting pay talks in the intractable row. They remained in the Lansdowne Road building past 11pm on Monday – with the pilots’ representatives grabbing a coffee at the 24-hour garage across the road at around 7pm. Aer Lingus warned there could be further cancellations, while Ialpa said if efforts at the Labour Court failed, it would consider escalating its industrial action. The airline’s chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty said Monday’s talks would be challenging. “This dispute is causing significant financial and reputational damage to Aer Lingus and it’s impacting negatively on everyone that’s connected with the company, including our passengers,” he said. “So we’ve no doubt that the engagement today in the Labour Court will be challenging, but we’re willing to engage in that meaningfully.” He added: “We’ve always been willing to engage in meaningful discussion and negotiation and we will continue that approach in the Labour Court today.”<br/>