Aer Lingus pilots have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a deal that now clears the way for the establishment of the airline's new Belfast hub.
The trade union Impact, of which the Irish Airline Pilots' Union (Ialpa) is a branch, confirmed this evening that a ballot of 480 pilots was 80 per cent in favour of proposals laid on the table after talks at the Labour Relations Commission earlier this week.
A spokesman for Impact told ireland.comthat the turnout in the ballot was just under 85 per cent.
"It's a pretty overwhelming endorsement of the deal," he said.
"Effectively, it's full steam ahead on Belfast."
Pilots lifted their threat of strike action in the early hours of Tuesday after a marathon 19 hours of talks at the LRC.
Strike action by the pilots would effectively have grounded all Aer Lingus flights and disrupted the travel plans of about 15,000 passengers in a single day.
The pilots were in dispute with Aer Lingus over the airline's plans to employ pilots at the new Belfast hub on local terms and conditions, rather than under terms enjoyed by pilots flying out of Dublin.
Pension arrangements were of particular concern to the pilots, as the airline insisted the Belfast-based staff would not be allowed to join the defined benefit scheme of which their colleagues in Dublin are members.
News that Aer Lingus had offered captains' contracts to seven pilots on a 'direct-entry' basis for the Belfast hub nearly resulted in the breakdown of the LRC talks when it emerged.
Under the deal agreed, pilots employed at bases outside Dublin will only be appointed on the basis of seniority.
Pilots at the Belfast operation will be recruited on local pay and conditions and similar arrangements will apply to other bases established overseas in the future.
A separate pension scheme will apply for pilots recruited for Belfast. But pilots in the Republic moving to the North on secondment will retain their existing pension scheme.
Promotions to the rank of aircraft captain at bases internationally in the future will be on the basis of the existing Aer Lingus seniority list rather than by direct entry competition.
Aer Lingus agreed under the deal to recognise Impact/Ialpa as the representative body for pilots in Belfast. This will allow the union to have a role in the negotiation of future pay and conditions but not those in place when the hub opens for business.
It is expected Aer Lingus will open the Belfast base in January.