Dismissed Aer Arann pilots prepare to meet O'Rourke

Aer Arann pilots who have been dismissed by their company are due to highlight their case when they meet the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, today.

The meeting has been arranged through IMPACT, which represents members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA). Mr Michael Landers of IMPACT said the redundancies had been introduced in a very arbitrary manner, at a time when the company was seeking more money from the State to run its air links to the regions.

Ms O'Rourke is due to decide this week on a new tender for the regional air links, as Aer Arann has said it cannot guarantee provision of the routes beyond November 5th.

Redundancy for 11 staff and three contract pilots becomes official today and it is understood that several of the pilots may take unfair dismissal cases. "We believe this decision was taken to minimise training costs, and the union will support pilots if they do proceed with legal action," said Mr Landers. The 14 pilots were notified of the redundancies in mid-August and the company refused to deal directly with IMPACT, as it said it did not recognise third parties. All 14 were pilots on the Shorts 360 aircraft. The company's decision to switch to larger and more expensive ATR 42 aircraft on the regional routes is believed to have been the determining factor.

The pilots were informed they could reapply for ATR 42 jobs when they became available, but that this would be subject to open competition - and that they would be given no preference over non-staff.

The firm has said the matter of the pilots has been dealt with and had no further comment yesterday.

Aer Arann informed the Government last month that it could not guarantee continued operation of the five regional routes, which it served under a Public Service Obligation contract worth £8.75 million a year in Exchequer funding. It cited rising costs and a "changing aviation landscape", even though it was already experiencing financial pressures before September 11th as a result of the switch to the larger planes. It is understood that passenger numbers were also low on the Sligo, Donegal and Knock links.

In response, the Government invited new tenders for five routes on the basis of a six-month contract. Aer Arann had secured the original contract last December for three years. The six airlines invited to bid were given only seven days to reply, and Aer Arann was the only company which re-tendered. Ms O'Rourke has said she is committed to maintaining the regional air links.