The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
AER Lingus has this afternoon announced it will close its Shannon cabin crew base.
A virtual meeting was held at 1pm in which staff were told about the financial impact of the pandemic, and that severe cutbacks are being introduced.
In a statement this afternoon, the airline said, “Aer Lingus staff were today advised that the cumulative impact of the crisis over the last 15 months means immediate actions and structural changes are required at the airline. The airline must be more cost-efficient and productive in order to generate the cash required to rebuild its financial health.
Disastrous news for Aer Lingus workers in Shannon Airport and the Mid-West region today. The pandemic has done huge damage to the aviation sector. The Irish government's response to Covid has been unique in Europe at least, in making a bad situation worse. pic.twitter.com/oWnsGIELaC
— Michael McNamara TD (@MlMcNamaraTD) May 18, 2021
“Immediate actions announced today by the airline include the permanent closure of the Aer Lingus cabin crew base at Shannon airport; the temporary closure of the Aer Lingus base at Cork airport from September until late November 2021; commencement of a review of our ground handling requirements in both Shannon and Cork airports; and the continuation of reduced working hours and associated pay reductions and lay-offs and the potential for more lay-offs.”
The fault lies 100% with the current government, particularly with the absent Minister for Transport @EamonRyan
— David Mc Namara (@DavidMcN81) May 18, 2021
There are approximately 81 cabin crew employed at Shannon and they will either be made redundant or in some cases may get transfers to Dublin. There are around 45 Aer Lingus ground staff at Shannon and the Aer Lingus statement says they “will continue to be laid-off.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
