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UPDATE: Aer Lingus have announced the temporary closure of their Cork base and say 198 staff will be laid off for three months

Tuesday, 18 May 2021 14:45

The airline says it's Cork base will close from September to late November, impacting 60 ground staff and 138 cabin crew. 

In a statement issued in the past half hour, Aer Lingus say they confirmed to staff that the airline will emerge smaller from the pandemic.

The airline is reviewing their ground handling requirements at Cork Airport and says they may be forced to announce more lay-offs across their business. 

The latest financial report shows Aer Lingus made a loss of €103 million in the first three months of the year on top of a loss of €361 million in 2020- a loss of almost €1 million a day.

Speaking RedFM News, Bernard Harbor from trade union Fórsa says crews are devestated by the announcement: 

"The company and indeed the whole of the aviation industry has been in crisis for over a year now and throughout that period we've been able to keep people on payroll, which is really important, obviously because it means they get some income. Cork cabin crew are on about 60% of their wages at the moment. That's not great but it's better than not having any income at all, but most importantly, it means that that relationship with the employer is sustained so that people have a working relationship with their employer. We think that that should be continued- we'll be putting that point to the company this afternoon."

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