Aer Lingus has expressed disappointment after the Labour Court said that it will not be intervening in the ongoing pay dispute with pilots at this time.
The court said it will review the matter in July after holding separate meetings with Aer Lingus management and the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA).
In a statement, Aer Lingus said it is disappointed the Labour Court's "assessment is that it is unable to assist in the dispute at this time".
The airline said it "made it clear that it remains available for discussions both directly and through the State’s industrial relations framework".
"Aer Lingus will continue to focus on minimising the disruption caused to customers by IALPA’s industrial action," it said, and called on IALPA to "consider the damage that its continued industrial action is inflicting upon passengers, the company and the Irish economy."
IALPA said it noted the decision of the Labour Court and that it remains available to re-enter meaningful negotiations with the airline.
Earlier, IALPA said that industrial action at Aer Lingus will go ahead from tomorrow.
Members will begin an indefinite work-to-rule at midnight, with an eight-hour strike planned for Saturday.
President of IALPA, Captain Mark Tighe, said for the action to be called off, management would need to see the merits of its pay claim.
Further 50 flights cancelled
Aer Lingus announced a further 50 flight cancellations for next Monday and Tuesday as a result of the industrial action.
Its Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty said the total number of cancellations stood at 270.
"It's clear that the impact of the dispute is ongoing and impactful.
"We had to cancel another 50 flights today for Monday 1 July and Tuesday 2 July, in order to protect as many of our services from being impacted by the ongoing industrial action.
"And that will continue unless there is a resolution found. So we will be hopeful that today's developments and developments over the coming days may help in that regard," Mr Moriarty said.
Earlier, the Taoiseach called on Aer Lingus and IALPA to "engage intensively" at the Labour Court in a bid to avoid "utter chaos" for air passengers.
Speaking on his way into a Cabinet meeting, Mr Harris said his challenge to the parties was to "bring that engagement forward, rather than putting people through a prolonged period of agony and chaos and then engaging in the end anyway".
He said there needed to be "compromise, engagement and sitting around a table" and urged both sides to "dig deep".
We need your consent to load this comcast-player contentWe use comcast-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"There will be very little sympathy and very little support for anybody who puts the traveling public through utter chaos, who results in families having their summer holidays cancelled, who disrupts the tourism sector in our economy, if they're not engaging and engaging intensively and really that's what needs to happen," Mr Harris said.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he hoped the engagement at the Labour Court would "lead to a pathway to a resolution" of the row and "relieve the anxiety and stress that thousands and thousands of people are feeling at the moment in respect of proposal industrial action".
He said there was "an urgent necessity" to resolve the dispute.
Planned pilot action 'awful' for customers - Aer Lingus CEO
Aer Lingus Chief Executive Lynne Embleton said the planned industrial action by pilots is "awful" for its customers and is already hurting passengers.
"We have people on weddings, we have people on family holidays, we have the Taylor Swift fans so this is all awful for all of them," Ms Embleton said.
We need your consent to load this comcast-player contentWe use comcast-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The airline had issued a fresh invite to IALPA for direct talks but the union said it would not re-enter negotiations that came with preconditions around flexibility and productivity.
IALPA said the 24% increase it is seeking is based on cumulative inflation over recent years and that its members should not have to pay for their pay increase by agreeing to work practice changes.
On Sunday, each side in the pay dispute accused the other of refusing to meaningfully engage.
'Difficult to see how dispute can be resolved' - Walsh
The Director General of the International Air Transport Association said it is difficult to see how the pay row at Aer Lingus can be resolved and the dispute will cause significant reputational and financial damage to the airline.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Willie Walsh said he would struggle to have sympathy for pilots and seeking a 24% pay increase is "way out of line" with anything he has seen before.
The former Aer Lingus boss said he believes productivity will have to make up part of any discussions.
He said that management has little room to manoeuvre and cannot afford to meet the pay demand.
To do so would impact on future financial performance at the airline and seriously seriously damage any future investment in it, Mr Walsh said.
He added that pay increases for pilots would have a spiral effect as other staff members seek similar treatment.
Mr Walsh said that Aer Lingus was significantly weakened during the pandemic and has been "clawing its way back since then".
However, its performance has been weak compared to other companies in the International Airlines Group (IAG), Mr Walsh added, and the situation is very risky for the airline.
IAG may withhold investment for Aer Lingus and look to dispose of some aircraft that were meant to go to the airline, Mr Walsh said.
"I think the situation is very, very risky and I'm sure all of the employees in Aer Lingus watching what's going on will be deeply concerned, not just for the impact that it's having on customers, but also for the potential impact that it could have on the future of the airline," he said.
Mr Walsh pointed out that IAG is structured in a way that each airline in the group has to stand on its own two feet and justify investment.
Other airlines, particularly Spanish ones, have recovered far more strongly than Aer Lingus, he said, adding that IAG will be "looking away from Aer Lingus" as it considers future investment.
He added he did not believe that pilots in other airlines in the group have received pay increases of up to 50%.
The Chief Executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association urged both sides in the dispute to put the customer at the centre of their agenda and approach talks with a view to finding a resolution.
Speaking on the same programme, Clare Dunne said travel agents around the country have worked to accommodate passengers since they first received lists of cancelled flights last week.
Most customers have been rebooked or refunded, she said.
However, no one knows what is going to happen from tomorrow when the work to rule comes into effect, Ms Dunne added.
She warned that without an agreement there may be more cancellations and delays.
Additional reporting Fergal O'Brien
