IALPA is set to vote on Labour Court recommendations by electronic ballot tomorrow.

It comes as Aer Lingus has decided to accept their recommendation to give pilots a pay rise of 17.75% up to 2026.

The court has also recommended a 10% increase to overnight allowances and a further 5% from October of next year.

Implications

Aer Lingus Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Dónal Moriarty, said the airline will be conducting a review into the long-term implications of the pilot pay dispute.

“We are looking at a review of the implications of the deal,” he said.

“What we would say at this point is that the consequences of the industrial action in terms of financial impact and reputational impact are the main things that we need to look at in the future.

“We've always wanted this dispute resolved and we respect the work that the Labour Court has done.

“We're calling upon Forsa and IALPA to look at the recommendation in the same way we have done and indeed accept it.”

Mark Tighe at an IALPA protest outside Dublin Airport. Image: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

IALPA President, Captain Mark Tighe, said members of the union executive have yet to see the details of the deal, so they'll meet tomorrow.

“There are a number of our members who are actually flying today who haven't even seen it yet, so we would hope to have a full executive meeting by tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

“In the meantime, there are a couple of items in it that we need to confirm our understanding of, which is perfectly normal any time a document is published.

“The company may well be doing something similar themselves and once we have confirmation of our understanding, the executive will then be able to decide as to whether to recommend acceptance or rejection.”

'Hopeful'

Captain Tighe said he’s “hopeful” of a resolution.

“We will be having an electronic ballot tomorrow, as we have done before, but we will also have a series of members meetings,” he said.

“That will be where members can come in and ask their own questions about it.

“They will undoubtedly have questions they want answered directly and once that's completed, then the ballot is completed, we'll have a result.”

Some 548 flights have been cancelled by the airline since industrial action began.

Main image: Aer Lingus planes at Dublin Airport, Dublin, Ireland