Airline captain in toxic fumes claim has ‘defamed’ Aer Lingus, barrister claims

A dismissed Aer Lingus captain who claims he was poisoned by “toxic fumes” on a flight from London to Dublin three years ago, leaving him with brain damage, is set to open a claim for whistleblower penalisation and other alleged employment rights breaches against the airline. A barrister acting for Aer Lingus has said the pilot had “defamed” the airline and senior members of its management team – and told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that there is “absolute and unreserved denial” that passengers or crew had been exposed to any safety risk. The pilot, Tom O’Riordan, has lodged claims under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Payment of Wages Act 1994, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 against Aer Lingus Ltd, and represented himself at a preliminary case management hearing on Monday. He told the hearing that he had suffered “chronic fatigue syndrome and brain damage” as a result of “exposure to toxic fumes” on a flight from London Heathrow to Dublin Airport. He claims he made a series of protected disclosures in connection with “fumes and falsification of reports” on various dates in correspondence with members of management at the airline, in letters to the Health and Safety Authority, the Minister for Transport, the Air Accident Investigation Unit, the Oireachtas and in posts on social media. O’Riordan’s case is that the reduction of his sick pay to 75% of his salary in January 2024 and then the withdrawal of sick pay in April this year, as well as the disciplinary proceedings against him which led to his dismissal last month, amounted to whistleblower penalisation.<br/>