Aer Lingus had to cancel 12 further flights today due to a rise in Covid cases.
the airline also said it would work to assist passengers “as efficiently as possible” if there were further cancellations in the coming days.
This comes after three return flights were canceled yesterday due to the virus while Covid and strikers were blamed for 13 cancellations over the weekend.
The flights departing from Dublin Airport today were EI3250 to Edinburgh at 06:40, EI650 to Frankfurt at 07:00 and EI552 to Lyon at 11:40.
Further cancellations have been confirmed for EI684 to Geneva at 13:15, EI356 to Munich at 16:25, and EI 610 to Amsterdam which will depart at 18:15.
Consequently, the corresponding return flights from those destinations that would arrive at Dublin Airport today were also canceled.
In a statement to Independent.ie, the airline said it was working to arrange alternative travel options for those affected.
“Due to an increase in Covid cases, Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 6 return flights from Dublin today, Wednesday 29 June. Our teams are working to secure alternative travel options for customers in each case and would like to apologize to those affected for the inconvenience.
“Just over 1 Aer Lingus flight was affected by cancellations this month.”
The airline has also said it will seek to accommodate travelers again in the event of further cancellations in the coming days.
“If crew illnesses require the cancellation of additional flights in the coming days, we will strive to accommodate passengers on the next available services as efficiently as possible.
“Aer Lingus expected the demand for travel to return once Covid restrictions were removed and appropriate buffers built into our plans to deal with a reasonable level of additional disruption.
“Systemic pressures and ongoing issues at some airports and among third-party providers have created significant operational challenges exacerbated by a significant increase in Covid cases in recent days,” the statement said.
It added: “We have shared details about customers ‘rights, the airlines’ obligations under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 which can be found here: www.aerlingus.com/support/legal/regulation”.
While Dublin is the main airport affected, a return flight from Shannon Airport to Boston was also canceled today.
On Sunday, a total of 13 flights to and from Dublin Airport were canceled, mainly due to air traffic control strikes in France, Italy and Spain.
Issues at other airports and among third-party providers were also cited as reasons for flight cancellations over the weekend with Aer Lingus apologizing for the flight unrest.
Ryanair said there were some “minor delays” in its schedule due to air traffic control staff shortages, which according to the company are “completely out of its control”.