New 9pm deadline for Aer Lingus talks
Unions and management of Aer Lingus and SIPTU have agreed to keep talking until 9pm tonight, it has been announced.
If no agreement is reached by that time, it will be viewed as a breakdown in the talks.
Both sides have agreed not to say anything further at this time, given the delicate stage of the talks have arrived at, and this 9pm deadline is being viewed as the absolute deadline for agreement to be reached.
Meanwhile, the restriction on the number of flights coming in and out of Dublin Airport that has been imposed, due to what the Irish Aviation Authority has called "unusually high levels of illness among air traffic controllers", will remain until midnight.
The Impact union has said that it was their understanding that only three or four controllers were unavailable, and given the number of controllers that the Authority currently employs, that bears out the arguments the union have been outlining.
