Aer Lingus fleet grounded again

Most Aer Lingus flights were set to be grounded today as clerical staff hold a one-day strike over pay for the second consecutive week.

More than 160 cancelled flights were to disrupt the travel plans of around 20,000 customers, the airline announced.

Only a handful of incoming transatlantic routes and several European routes were set to operate normally.

Yesterday, Education Minister Michael Woods, answering questions for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the Dail, called on both sides in the dispute to go to the Labour Court in an effort to resolve the issue.

The strike, by 3,000 clerical and operative staff, members of the SIPTU trade union, is over a disparity in the rates of pay of different staff.

The airline insists the current pay settlements are ‘‘fair and equitable’’ to each group of employees.

An Aer Lingus spokesman said yesterday: ‘‘A special meeting of the Aer Lingus board will take place on Monday April 9.

‘‘This meeting has been convened to consider the company performance in the light of the general trading environment, the impact on travel of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and the general industrial relations environment in the company.’’

Another one-day strike is scheduled for next Thursday, ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend.

But Declan Connor of Aer Lingus said the action is totally unjustified.