Aer Lingus dispute: Family ‘devastated’ after canceled holiday – BBC News

A father has spoken of his children’s disappointment after their “holiday of a lifetime” to Disney World was canceled due to the Aer Lingus pay dispute.

Aer Lingus has canceled at least 220 flights due to planned pilot industrial action.

An indefinite work-to-govern will begin on Wednesday, with an eight-hour strike planned for Saturday.

The airline and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) will later attend separate meetings at the Employment Tribunal to discuss the matter.

Andrew McKee, from Bangor, County Down, was among a group of nine people who were due to leave for Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, but discovered on Friday that the flights had been cancelled.

“I have a five-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy, and they were devastated when I told them,” McKee said.

Mr McKee’s daughter, Lucy, cried when he told her the news.

“It’s something you really build up to,” he said.

“They had a little countdown that we were doing, saying we had so much sleep until we left, and my son, he’s a little bit older, so he kind of understands it, but at the same time he’s still a kid. “

His youngest was especially disappointed when he missed out on the trip to Disneyland.

“Lucy was very excited to see Cinderella and Snow White and all the princesses.

“It’s magical and suddenly the rug was swept out from under us.”

Aer Lingus offered Mr McKee the option to change his flights or request a refund, but “the problem is that’s just the flight element”, Mr McKee said.

“There’s the park tickets, there’s the accommodation, there’s the car rental, you know everything else,” he added.

Mr McKee, his wife, two children and mother and sister’s family were due to fly from Dublin.

Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the public was being ignored by both sides in the dispute.

“They have planned for this, they have saved for this – it is shocking that they are being ignored and, if you like, willfully sidelined in this battle between Aer Lingus management and the unions,” Mr Martin said. said.

The airline said it had extended a new invitation to IALPA for direct talks, but the union said it would not re-enter negotiations that involved conditions around flexibility and productivity.

Mr McKee said he supports pilots taking strike action despite his plight.

“I think the pilots have a very difficult job because they deserve to be paid well… but at the same time it is difficult.”

“The only good thing is that we booked it as a package, so I think our travel agent will help us.”

Mr. McKee and his family are now thinking about planning next year’s vacation.

The airline has said that passengers with flights booked between June 26 and July 2 will have a number of options available.

Contact should be made via email or text, or through their travel agent.

For customers who have booked directly with Aer Lingus, there is the option to change flights online. The company said it will waive the fare difference and any change fees if it rebooks to a later date.

There is also the option to request a full refund or a refund voucher, which can be redeemed within five years.

Aer Lingus said passengers who booked through a travel agent or third party should contact those companies directly.

“Unfortunately, Aer Lingus cannot assist directly in these cases,” Aer Lingus outlines on its website.