Oireachtas group seizes high moral ground with Aer Lingus chiefs

Aer Lingus faces a "damp squib" of a summer, according to recently appointed chief executive Lynne Embleton. She told the Oireachtas committee on transport on Tuesday that any optimism the airline had about Government plans to reopen international travel on July 19th evaporated in the face of extra restrictions.

Embleton picked out extra curbs requiring non-vaccinated travellers from Britain to self-isolate, introduced last week by Government on growing fears about the coronavirus Delta variant, as a particular step back. But the airline is also concerned about plans to treat travellers from key markets in the US and Britain differently from EU passengers once reopening happens next month.

Aer Lingus maintains that non-vaccinated children of inoculated parents arriving from Britain and the US will have to self-isolate. They can be released from this after five days once a PCR tests shows they are negative for Covid-19.

The airline says that the same bar will not apply to EU families, whose non-vaccinated children can go where their parents go. Embleton dubbed it anti-family and warned it would dampen enthusiasm for travel to or from here, with an obvious impact for Aer Lingus’s business.

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While the Irish Government has pledged €300 million to support aviation generally, most of it to subsidise workers' wages, it has not given direct aid to airlines

That business has meant its workforce contract by more than 1,000 to about 4,400 since the virus struck last year. Many left its operations in Dublin but Aer Lingus's decision to close its Shannon Airport base – with the potential loss of 126 cabin and ground crew – was a big focus for the politicians that Embleton and chief corporate affairs officer Donal Moriarty faced on Tuesday.

Five of the transport committee's members, including its chairman, Limerick Fine Gael TD Kieran O'Donnell, hail from constituencies in Shannon's hinterland. It was no surprise then that the airline's plan to close the midwestern base came under heavy fire.

Co Clare Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley argued that Aer Lingus was casting aside people who had been "proud to wear its uniform", many of them from families whose parents had also worked for the airline.

His party and constituency colleague, Cathal Crowe TD, produced payslips that he said showed the Government’s Employee Wage Support Scheme contributed €600 of €635.89 paid to an Aer Lingus worker at Shannon Airport.

Crowe believes that the Government should tie such supports to commitments from Aer Lingus to maintain a presence in Shannon, and to the airline giving broader pledges on continuing with routes to regional airports once the crisis passes.

He and several other members noted that Spanish carrier Iberia, part of International Airlines' Group, gave commitments on preserving jobs when its government stepped in with €1 billion of aid.

However, while the Irish Government has pledged €300 million to support aviation generally, most of it to subsidise workers' wages, it has not given direct aid to airlines.

In fact, its approach differs from other EU states, which have handed over €30 billion to airlines in various forms, including grants, loan guarantees and direct investment. As the depth of the Covid-19 crisis hit home last year, Germany backed former flag carrier Lufthansa to the tune of €9 billion.

It's hard to dispute that the presence of an airport with European and US services is anything other than good for the Shannon region and the west of Ireland

Most of the Irish Government’s aid is paid through the employee wage-support scheme. Along with the industry generally, Aer Lingus wants that extended into next year. The Government could attempt to impose conditions on any extension, but that could leave workers paying the penalty if airlines are unable to agree to those terms.

Government policy

Aer Lingus has warned that it cannot accept “conditionality”. Embleton repeated this on Tuesday, stressing several times that closing the Shannon base did not mean the airline would end services at the airport. Instead she maintained it would help ensure the carrier could fly profitably in the future and continue to serve all regional airports.

The committee members are fighting their constituencies' corners. They also have a case. It's hard to dispute that the presence of an airport with European and US services is anything other than good for the Shannon region and the west of Ireland.

Nevertheless, those that are members of Government parties are on thinner ice than at first glance. The restrictions that Aer Lingus and other carriers argue are needlessly strict, and which they blame for jobs losses and base closures, are Government policy.

O'Donnell, Crowe and Fine Gael Co Clare TD and committee member Joe Carey have voted for the various Health (Amendment) Acts that have given effect to restrictions, including travel curbs. So they and committee colleagues that have backed Government policy in this and other ways, have played a part in bringing the aviation industry, including Shannon Airport, to its current state.

It’s legitimate for all transport committee members to question executives from Aer Lingus or any other airline. But there’s a point where they have to acknowledge their own role and that of the Government they support. Otherwise it simply looks like they are trying to shift responsibility for their own decisions elsewhere.