AER LINGUS is set to cancel at least 10 flights today as a result of the current row involving cabin crew over the implementation of new rosters.
As many as 1,500 passengers are expected to be affected today as a result of the dispute.
Aer Lingus said last night that 32 cabin crew personnel had been removed from the payroll for refusing to operate the new rosters, which it introduced on Monday.
More than 50 other cabin crew staff, who have also refused to operate the new rosters, have been asked to attend meetings with management today and face the possibility of also being removed from the payroll.
The Irish Travel Agents Association last night called on Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to have a mediator intervene in the case to avoid further damage to the industry.
Aer Lingus said the flights to be cancelled today are: EI 650 Dublin to Frankfurt and EI 651 Frankfurt to Dublin; EI 582 Dublin to Malaga and EI 583 Malaga to Dublin; EI 594 Dublin to Madrid and EI 595 Madrid to Dublin; EI 606 Dublin to Amsterdam and EI 607 Amsterdam to Dublin; and EI 176 Dublin to London Heathrow and EI 177 London Heathrow to Dublin.
The company said passengers affected by the cancellations were being notified by e-mail and text message.
The airline yesterday cancelled three flights while it hired aircraft and crew to operate other services as a result of the dispute with cabin crew over the new roster arrangements.
Aer Lingus said it sincerely regretted the cancellation of the scheduled flights to and from Chicago yesterday as well as a service from New York to Dublin.
A return flight to Madrid and a service from Dublin to New York were operated by an aircraft and crew which were hired in by the company.
The airline said: “sole responsibility for these cancellations, and the corresponding disruption to customers’ travel plans, lies with Impact trade union members who continue to take industrial action despite 15 months of negotiation, agreement, clarification, conciliation and binding arbitration”.
The airline has argued that a new roster system and associated revised rules are necessary to secure an increase in flying hours for cabin crew to 850 per year as part of its overall cost-saving plan known as “Greenfield”.
However, Impact has maintained that while cabin crew accepted the requirement in the Greenfield agreement to increase flying hours to 850 a year as part of overall working time, they had not voted to accept rule changes imposed by the company.
Impact has argued the new rosters are excessively onerous and have been imposed on staff in contravention of the Greenfield agreement.
The union said it had referred the dispute to the Labour Court, but that a date for a hearing had not yet been set.
The outcome of any such Labour Court hearing would be binding on the union as it had made the referral.