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

A father spoke of his children’s disappointment after their “vacation of a lifetime” at Disney World was cancelled due to the Aer Lingus fare dispute.

Aer Lingus has cancelled at least 220 flights as part of planned industrial action by pilots.

An indefinite go-slow strike is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, and an eight-hour strike is planned for Saturday.

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

Andrew McKee, from Bangor, County Down, was part of a group of nine scheduled to fly to Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, but learned on Friday that the flights had been cancelled.

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

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

“It’s something you really work toward,” he said.

“We did a little countdown and said how many more sleeps we had to get before we left. My son is a little older, so he kind of understands, but at the same time he’s still a kid.”

His youngest was especially disappointed because he missed 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 has been pulled out from under us.”

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

“There are the parking tickets, the accommodation, the car rental, everything else you know,” he added.

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

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

“They planned this, they saved for this – it’s shocking that they’re being ignored and deliberately sidelined, if you will, in this battle between Aer Lingus management and the unions,” Martin said.

The airline said it had again invited IALPA to direct talks, but the union said it would not resume negotiations, which were subject to preconditions on flexibility and productivity.

Mr McKee said that despite his predicament, he supported a pilots’ strike.

“I think pilots have a very difficult job. They deserve to be paid well… but at the same time it’s hard.”

“The only good thing is that we booked it as a package, so I guess our travel agent is taking care of us.”

Mr McKee and his family are now considering planning the holiday for next year instead.

The airline said passengers booked flights between June 26 and July 2 have several options available.

Everyone should be contacted by email or SMS or through their travel agent.

Customers who booked directly with Aer Lingus have the option to rebook flights online. The company said it would waive the fare difference and any rebooking fees if the booking was rescheduled for a later date.

You also have the option to request a full refund or a refund voucher that can be redeemed within five years.

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

“Unfortunately, Aer Lingus cannot help directly in these cases,” Aer Lingus explains on its website.