Airline dispute threatens flights

Some Aer Lingus flights are expected to be disrupted in the coming days as a dispute between management and cabin crew continues.

Four flights were cancelled over the weekend as crew implemented a work-to-rule protest, refusing to travel on flights which were short of an agreed staff complement.

More than 200 passengers had an unscheduled stay overnight in counties Clare and Limerick after a flight from Shannon to Boston was cancelled on Saturday. They left instead on a flight yesterday.

An Aer Lingus spokeswoman said the original flight had become "short-crewed" after a staff member became sick before take-off.

One flight was cancelled on the Dublin-Glasgow route on Saturday, and one each on the Dublin-Birmingham and Dublin-Frankfurt routes yesterday. All passengers were accommodated on later flights.

The Aer Lingus spokeswoman said the disruption was "very minimal" in the context of an average of 200 flights a day. She said "99.8 per cent of flights are operating on schedule, and passengers should check in as normal".

The dispute centres on proposed new work practices with worker concerns centring on the perceived negative impact of shorter turn-around times, including a possible curtailment of meal breaks.