Aer Lingus to face Oireachtas grilling over flight disruption

The airline cancelled several further Ireland-US flights due to Covid-19 spreading among its staff.

Aer Lingus reportedly issued an apology to affected customers and is offering advice on rebooking flights and securing refunds. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Aer Lingus continues to face scrutiny over the cancellation of several flights due to a lack of staff.

The airline cancelled flights from Ireland to the US last weekend, adding to the over 20 cancellations by the airline this month, as Covid-19 spreads among staff.

Aer Lingus reportedly issued an apology to all affected customers, and is offering advice on rebooking flights and securing refunds.

Aer Lingus representatives will appear before an Oireachtas committee this week to discuss the cancellations, as well as the issue of displaced baggage.

Airlines across Europe have been under pressure due to pent-up demand and staff shortages post-pandemic.

This is the latest headache for the airline in terms of flight disruptions. Aer Lingus cancelled one of its flights from Heathrow to Shannon airport every day last week.

This measure was due to a temporary cap on passenger numbers allowed through Heathrow airport, in an attempt relieve some of the pressure it and other airports are currently under, due to soaring demand during the summer months.

However, this announcement meant airlines had to quickly rearrange their pre-prepared post-Covid schedules.

The west London airport said no more than 100,000 daily passengers will be able to depart from July 12 until September 11.

The airport ordered airlines to “stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers.”

There have been silver linings for some airlines, as the aviation industry combats a spike in Covid-19 infections and pent-up demand.

German airline Lufthansa recently returned to profitability in Q2, benefiting from the surging travel demand that has overwhelmed airlines and airports across Europe and has forced many to raise fares and limit seat availability.

Lufthansa said last week it will only offer seats in its most expensive booking class for the month of July. That move raised the price of even the cheapest return flights between London and Frankfurt to €1,000.

Lufthansa has scrapped almost 6,000 summer flights.

• Additional reporting by the 'Irish Examiner' and Bloomberg