Passengers face more uncertainty as Aer Lingus pilots’ pay deal stalls

Aer Lingus passengers faced continued uncertainty on Tuesday as efforts to broker peace in the pilots’ pay row stalled while union leaders sought clarification of a deal meant to end the dispute, which has affected 82,000 people’s travel plans. A meeting of executive members of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), part of trade union Fórsa, ended without a decision on whether to back a Labour Court recommendation that the company boost pilots’ pay by 17.75%. Ialpa said afterwards that officials would wait for the court to confirm several points in the deal before meeting again to decide whether to call on members to vote for it in a ballot. Capt Mark Tighe, Ialpa’s president, said the organisation had written to the Labour Court asking it to confirm that the officials’ understanding of some of its terms were correct. “We hope to have a response soon,” he added. Sources say the union executive’s decision on whether or not to recommend that pilots back the deal will hinge on the Labour Court’s response. Whatever position Ialpa officials adopt is seen as crucial to ending the dispute, as its members are likely to support this when they vote in coming days. Aer Lingus has already confirmed it would agree to the deal, but the union must ballot members before endorsing it.<br/>