Rabbitte calls for sides to resolve Aer Lingus row

Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has echoed comments by his Cabinet colleague Transport Minister Leo Varadkar in urging both sides of the Aer Lingus dispute to re-engage in talks.

Mr Rabbitte said: "It is essentially a private company, but it is strategic and critical, especially at a time when the whole objective of Government is to get tourism numbers up.

"The issue can only be resolved between the two parties, so it would be best that it would happen before Tuesday."

Negotiations attempting to resolve the row between the airline's management and pilots over rosters collapsed yesterday.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation has appealed to Aer Lingus pilots not to go ahead with their planned strike action from Tuesday in order to avoid major air travel chaos.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus has extended the period for passengers to change bookings free of charge online.

Passengers can now cancel flights they have booked from Tuesday, June 7 until Friday, June 10.

The airline expects widespread disruption to its operations this week, should the strike action begin from Tuesday.