Aer Lingus strike leaves hundreds stranded

Hundreds of Aer Lingus passengers have been left stranded at Ireland’s airports due to a one-day strike by the airline’s pilots.

The pilots called the stoppage after seven of their colleagues were suspended for refusing to co-operate with new working arrangements.

Aer Lingus has vowed to continue suspending uncooperative pilots and has grounded its entire fleet for tomorrow and Saturday because, it said, it cannot guarantee services unless the pilots agree to the changes. The pilots have refused to back down and the company is expected to announce later today if Sunday’s services will also be cancelled.

Meanwhile, pressure is growing on the Government to intervene in the dispute. Stephen Scully, one of the pilots on the picket line today, said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should take action.

"I’d like to see him here today," Mr Scully said. "I’d like to see him standing between the two parties here and helping to negotiate a settlement.

"He was prepared to do it for what, I believe, was a far more trivial matter, the way he was prepared to jump on a jet and talk to Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy. I wish he’d jump on a jet and come over here and have a chat."

The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland has also called for a speedy resolution of the stand-off, saying Aer Lingus’ transatlantic services are vital to multinational corporations with operations in Ireland.

Tadhg Kearney, from the CCI’s air transport users council, said: "There’s alarm over the fact that this might be the start of an ongoing series of disruptions . . . If this finishes on Sunday, is there going to be another disruption again in four or six weeks’ time?"