There’s relief for air passengers at Shannon Airport this afternoon as looming strike action by Aer Arann has been called off..
It follows talks between pilot representatives and management.
Aer Lingus’s ballot of its pilots in support of Aer Arann workers has also been halted.
Intending passengers at Shannon Airport faced chaos from next Tuesday after Aer Arann pilots voted to down tools in a row with management over money.
They operate the Aer Lingus Regional Service and would have caused disruption to thousands of flights including services between Shannon , Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The situation then escalated last night after it emerged Aer Lingus pilots were also being balloted for strike in support of their Aer Arann colleagues – leading to fears it would have a devastating impact on efforts to rebuild services at Shannon.
However following talks – Aer Arann’s strike has been halted allow a negotiated agreement on pay to be put to ballot. The deal includes the re-establishment of a pay scale progression halted in 2008 and paves the way to reconvene the pilot pay tribunal in 2014.
The development also means that Aer Lingus’s ballot has now been suspended too.
In a statement Aer Arann has welcomed the agreement adding that its now contacting all impending passengers to advice all their services will operate fully, across all routes and at all airports next week
