Some airline passengers were confused last night after Aer Lingus canceled several flights to and from Dublin Airport.
The company has apologized, saying a Covid epidemic has broken out among its staff and air traffic control strikes in France, Italy and Spain have caused “buffers” to fail.
Last night, a flight from Dublin to Faro, along with a flight to Split in Croatia, was canceled by the airline, along with arrivals from London Heathrow and Amsterdam.
Passengers expressed frustration online when one person said their expensive family vacation, booked three years ago, had been cancelled, leaving their children “distraught”.
The passenger said: “I want to share so many feelings, but I thought it was best to be the professional.
“Three years of waiting, two years of planning, €6,000 Faro holiday, three distraught children, wife in tears, two queues leading nowhere.
“Long drive home. Start refund/vouchers and the travel agency.”
Aer Lingus is issuing a statement to Independent.ie detailing how Covid cases had affected staffing levels, along with air traffic control strikes, which Ryanair had already said would affect flights.
“Aer Lingus anticipated the return of travel demand once Covid restrictions were lifted and has built appropriate buffers into our plans to accommodate a reasonable level of additional disruption,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately, this weekend, system pressures from ATC strikes and ongoing problems at airports and third-party suppliers have necessitated the cancellation of some flights.
“This pressure on the system has been exacerbated in recent days by a spike in Covid cases among our own teams.
“Where cancellations have occurred, Aer Lingus has endeavored to reaccommodate the disrupted passengers on the next available alternative service.
“Aer Lingus would like to apologize to customers affected and have shared details regarding the rights of customers and airline obligations under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 which can be found here: www.aerlingus.com/support/legal/ regulation.”
One woman tweeted that there had been an “outrageous lack of communication leading to our flight from Paris to Dublin being canceled tonight”.
Ryanair had already said this weekend it was forecasting disruptions, especially in France, Italy and Spain, following a two-day strike at the French air traffic control center in Marseille.