Aer Lingus avoids total disruption, but at a cost

THE first day of strike action by Aer Lingus cabin crews passed off without major disruption yesterday as hired in crews and aircraft covered nine out of every 10 scheduled flights.

However a combination of Wednesday’s bad weather and yesterday’s 24-hour stoppage saw hundreds of passengers suffer delays as 19 flights were cancelled.

Over 200 stranded passengers were accommodated in Dublin hotels on Wednesday night and 450 were housed in Clare and Limerick at an estimated cost of €30,000. On Wednesday the company block booked 11 hotels in the Shannon region, including 45 rooms in the five-star Dromoland Castle hotel near Ennis, Co Clare.