Persisting travel problems in Dublin Airport as Aer Lingus flights cancelled 

A spokesperson for the airline said the reason for the cancellations was a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Travel problems persist at Dublin Airport after an airline was forced to cancel a number of flights today with more to follow.

Aer Lingus cancelled six return flights from the airport today with destinations affected including Lyon, Geneva, Munich, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Edinburgh.

A spokesperson for the airline said the reason for the cancellations was a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The travel disruption is not limited to today however as Aer Lingus has confirmed one return flight to London will be cancelled on Thursday.

The 7.30am flight from Dublin to Heathrow and the 11.20am from Heathrow to Dublin have been cancelled due to a mandate from London Heathrow Airport Authority. The 7am Aer Lingus flight to Hamburg has also been cancelled.

According to information on the Dublin Airport website, the 5.55pm flight to Berlin is listed as being cancelled.

Aer Lingus flights arriving into Dublin tomorrow that are listed on the airport website as being cancelled include the 1.35am flight from Bourgas, the 11.20am from Dusseldorf, the 11.50am from Hamburg, the 11.15pm from Berlin.

A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said they were not aware of these cancellations.The airline was forced to cancel flights last Sunday and Monday due to a combination of strikes and Covid-19 outbreaks.

In a statement, Aer Lingus said they are working to secure alternative travel options for customers.

"Should crew illness require the cancellation of additional flights in the coming days, we will seek to re-accommodate passengers on the next available service as efficiently as possible," the airline said.

They said they has anticipated the demand for travel once Covid restrictions had lifted but system pressures and ongoing issues at some airports and among third-party suppliers have created considerable operational challenges which have been compounded by a significant spike in Covid cases in recent days.

News of these latest cancellations comes as the HSE’s chief clinical officer has acknowledged that the country is in the middle of another wave of Covid-19 driven by the BA4 and BA5 subvariants which has led some hospitals to impose visitor restrictions.

The sub-variants now account for 90% of cases and the previous protection from re-infection has gone, Dr Colm Henry told RTÉ radio’s News at One.

Previously, people who had contracted the virus had a natural immunity from re-infection, but that protection is undermined when it comes to the new sub-variants, he warned. The virus was no longer seasonal.