Flights take off on time as pilots and management continue battle

AER LINGUS aircraft took to the skies relatively on schedule yesterday, something that was far from guaranteed just two days earlier as 480 pilots looked likely to ground 45,000 passengers.

However, on the ground there appeared to be no take-off whatsoever in the battle between pilots and management at the airline.

The sides went into talks at 11am with the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and within two hours were back out, told not to come back until next Monday. No doubt commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey, who has taken personal control of the mediation, will be hoping when both return they will be in slightly more accommodating moods.