An end may be in sight in the dispute between pilots and Aer Lingus after the pilots' representative body signalled it will recommend its members accept a deal put forward by the Labour Court.
After over two weeks of industrial action, here's where the dispute currently stands and how it may be brought to a conclusion.
Recap, what's the dispute about?
Pilots at Aer Lingus decided to take industrial action after the airline refused to meet their demands for a 24 per cent pay increase.
The pilots' representative group – the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (Ialpa) – said the rate represents inflation since their last pay increase in 2019.
However, the airline described the demand as "untenable", leading Aer Lingus pilots to commence a work-to-rule action on June 26th.
Under a work-to-rule, only contractual work obligations are met, meaning no overtime is carried out.
In addition to the work-to-rule, pilots also staged an eight-hour strike on June 29th.
What's the Labour Court's role in this?
The Labour Court is the 'court of last resort' for industrial disputes.
The court holds a hearing on the matter, listening to arguments from each side of the dispute, and issues a recommendation.
Earlier in the saga, the Labour Court had recommended a pay increase of 9.25 per cent, but this was rejected by the pilots' union.
When the matter escalated with the commencement of industrial action, Aer Lingus and Ialpa agreed to return to the Labour Court for a formal hearing.
Following the hearing last week, the Labour Court issued its recommendation on Monday afternoon, suggesting a 17.75 per cent increase to cover a four-year period from January 1st, 2023, to the end of 2026.
Have both sides accepted the recommendation?
Aer Lingus promptly accepted the proposal, encouraging Ialpa to do the same in a statement issued on Monday evening.
"The airline will have to consider the longer-term implications of implementing the recommendation and of this dispute which has been enormously damaging both financially and reputationally," the Aer Lingus statement read.
Meanwhile, the pilots' group sought clarification on the recommendation from the court, during which time the work-to-rule continued.
Having received the relevant clarification, Ialpa's executive voted to recommend that the association's members accept the deal when it is put to them in a ballot in the coming week.
Speaking on Thursday morning, the association's president, Captain Mark Tighe, said they are recommending the acceptance of the proposal "because we believe it's a deal that the pilots can hopefully accept, and we'll move on".
Following the result of the executive's vote, the pilots' work-to-rule action was halted.
What if pilots vote to reject the deal?
If pilots opt not to accept the 17.75 per cent increase, it's likely there'll be a return of the work-to-rule, if not further industrial action.
It would also send Aer Lingus and Ialpa back to the negotiating table, with potentially more disruption to flights.
What's the latest on flight cancellations?
On Wednesday, Aer Lingus announced the latest spate of cancellations, with 25 flights which had been scheduled for Monday, July 15th and Tuesday, July 16th axed.
In a statement, the airline said further cancellations would be confirmed on Thursday.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled since the pilots' industrial action began on June 26th, impacting thousands of customers.
