Aer Lingus cabin crew this evening delivered a letter to chief executive, Mr Michael Foley calling on the company to enter meaningful talks to resolve a dispute over pay.
The letter reads: "We [the cabin crew] wish to report our commitment to further talks to seek a solution to these difficulties. We believe you should recognise that it is the same strengths of commitment, loyalty and team spirit that the company values, which has caused cabin crew to reject the current proposals."
It added cabin crew are seeking a long-term career structure in the company and are opposed to less favourable conditions for new colleagues.
An Aer Lingus spokesman responded that the company remained available for talks and added the only way forward was to re-engage in dialogue. The small number of passengers unaware of the strike were accommodated on other airlines, he added.
Aer Lingus today grounded 165 of the 180 scheduled flights due to a one-day cabin crew strike over pay and salary scales which saw 16,000 passengers being forced to change their travel plans.
Yesterday IMPACT, which represents 1,400 of the airline's 1,600 cabin crew, announced cabin crew will hold another one-day strike on February 16th, and two more stoppages on dates to be announced in the following week.
Ten hours of talks between IMPACT representatives and Aer Lingus management at the Labour Court broke down late on Sunday night.