Further travel disruption on the cards as more flights are cancelled

Aer Lingus reiterated its apology to passengers and its message that the airline was working to re-accommodate impacted passengers on the next available services 'as efficiently as possible'. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Passengers due to fly with Aer Lingus faced further travel chaos heading into this weekend as yet more flights were cancelled due to the ongoing spike of Covid cases among the airline’s staff.

Aer Lingus cancelled 19 flights on Friday, with a further set of flights to and from Lyon, London Gatwick and Amsterdam cancelled for Saturday. It follows a string of cancellations that first began last weekend, affecting thousands of holidaymakers.

The airline said the Lyon cancellations were due to industrial action from ground handling staff in the French city. Unions in France have said the strike could last until Sunday.

In a statement, Aer Lingus reiterated its apology to passengers and its message that the airline was working to re-accommodate impacted passengers on the next available services “as efficiently as possible”.

Latest cancellations follow a string of cancellations that first began last weekend, affecting thousands of holidaymakers. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

“Aer Lingus anticipated the return of demand for travel once Covid restrictions were removed and built appropriate buffers into our plans in order to deal with a reasonable level of additional disruption,” it said.

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.” 

On what is set to be another busy weekend at the country’s airports, passengers again faced queues at security during the peak time on Friday morning.

According to the Dublin Airport website, wait times to get through terminal 1 were as high as 45 minutes in the early morning. 

As security queues have begun to ease from the worst wait times experienced by passengers in late May and early June, however, issues around lost baggage have also come to the fore.

Last month, the DAA said it was aware of the issues passengers were facing regarding the return of their baggage. 

It said it was liaising “very closely” with the airlines and handling companies in relation to these issues, and “regret that these issues are impacting on the passenger experience at Dublin Airport”.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the aviation watchdog recovered €579,0000 in refunds for disgruntled passengers over cancelled flights in 2021.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) handled 1,479 complaints last year, which was down from a record 4,543 the previous year, largely caused by pandemic-enforced cancellations.