Aer Lingus issues new ultimatum to pilots

Aer Lingus has issued a new ultimatum to its pilots today as part of the row over pay and conditions at the airline's planned new Belfast base.

Management has already suspended four pilots for refusing to co-operate with the recruitment and training of staff for the new base.

Further suspensions were expected today after the IMPACT trade union advised pilots to resign from their training duties, which it believes are optional.

However, Aer Lingus has instead written to pilots giving them until Monday to confirm their willingness to co-operate with setting up the Belfast base or face automatic suspension on Tuesday morning.