Aer Lingus rubbishes €200m pension claims

Aer Lingus has written to its shareholders to rubbish claims it may be forced to stump up €200m to shore up workers’ pension entitlements.

The airline appears determined not to set aside any more than €100m as part of its attempts to bolster the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) which is €748m in the red.

That money will only be made available with strict provisos including up to €54m in savings in return to be achieved through staff cost rationalisation.