Passengers scrambling to adjust their plans due to cancelled flights in the midst of the Aer Lingus conflict, have been informed that they are required to cover any additional costs for rebooking upfront. They would then need to wait for the airline to reimburse them. The wave of cancellations is due to an ongoing pay dispute led by the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), which has seen nearly 500 flights cancelled in the past 10 days, impacting the travel arrangements of 75,000 individuals.
Despite the turmoil, the airline has consistently promised affected customers the option to amend their flights at no extra charge and to claim refunds or vouchers. Yet, changing flying dates can come with considerable costs that passengers must shoulder initially before obtaining a reimbursement from the airline.
Even though Aer Lingus is striving to limit the financial burden on customers, delays of several days could happen. Passengers travelling are advised to ensure they have adequate funds to manage any extra expenses.
In an example of the situation, a man more recently had to rebook his and his son’s return flight to London, which was intended to include some time at Wimbledon, due to the cancellations. While promising no transfer fee, the airline eventually charged him €340 for the two-person rebooking onto another flight. He emphasised that reimbursement requests had to be made, highlighting that not all people have the financial capacity to afford such instant expenses. He added that a larger family could incur significantly higher transfer costs, and potentially be left stranded without the immediate capacity to pay.
The ongoing dispute between Aer Lingus and its pilots has unsettled many passengers including Mark Dodd. Despite having a flight reservation with Aer Lingus for the forthcoming Monday, he had to take precautionary measures against possible cancellation. Hence, he secured alternative arrangements through Ryanair.
Dodd lodged a request for a refund voucher for the outbound flight last Wednesday and promptly received an acknowledgement code from Aer Lingus. On following up with the airline after several days with no response, he was informed that the refund process might take roughly a week to complete.
An spokesperson for Aer Lingus stated that the company is waiving any alteration fees due to the ongoing disagreement. Customers are instructed to submit any differences in fares for a refund. The spokesperson confirmed that 75% of refund requests are being processed within a day, while the customer service team is focusing on getting the remaining requests completed as swiftly as possible.
The spokesperson also expressed sincere apologies to customers for the significant inconvenience that the strike action has caused. She further acknowledged the tough time that customers are experiencing currently.