Press Statement Thursday 28th May 2020
O’Donnell calls on Aer Lingus to reconsider temporary cabin crew lay-off at Shannon Airport
Limerick Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell has called on Aer Lingus to reconsider its proposed temporary lay-off of their Shannon based cabin crew following the shock announcement yesterday.
In an email (see below in Notes to Editor) to Aer Lingus chief executive Seán Doyle, Deputy O’Donnell has asked that cabin crew in Shannon be treated the same way as their fellow cabin crew in Dublin and Cork. He has also sought clarification from Aer Lingus management regarding the retention of Shannon staff on the government’s Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and the recommencement of Shannon-Heathrow flights and why they were originally cancelled.
“Yesterday’s announcement of the proposed temporary layoffs came as a great shock to the cabin crew based in Shannon, who have been in contact with me.
“I have written to Aer Lingus CEO Seán Doyle, along with his colleagues, Sean Murphy and Mary Montgomery seeking a reconsideration of this Temporary lay-off proposal as well as requesting clarifications on a number of points, including retaining these staff as employees and the restoration of Aer Lingus flights from Shannon Airport.
“Without a doubt, this is an exceptionally challenging time for Aer Lingus but I am concerned with the proposal to temporarily lay-off crew at Shannon from 21st June to 29th August does not reflect the actions taken at Dublin and Cork. There are also questions to be answered on the decision to cancel the Aer Lingus Heathrow route from Shannon while the Cork route has continued.
“The Aer Lingus Shannon to Heathrow route and transatlantic routes are vital to connectivity for Limerick and Mid-West region and I am determined that these are reinstated as quickly as possible and the Shannon based cabin crew staff are maintained here.
ENDS.
Notes to Editor:
Email to Aer Lingus Chief Executive Officer Seán Doyle
—————————————————
From: Kieran O’Donnell <Kieran.ODonnell@oireachtas.ie>
Date: 27 May 2020 at 23:27:17 IST
To: sean.doyle@aerlingus.com <sean.doyle@aerlingus.com>
Cc: sean.murphy@aerlingus.com <sean.murphy@aerlingus.com>, mary.montgomery@aerlingus.com <mary.montgomery@aerlingus.com>
<pressqueries@aerlingus.com>
Subject: Proposed Temporary Lay-off of Aer Lingus Shannon based Cabin Crew
Attention of: Seán Doyle, Aer Lingus CEO
Cc: Sean Murphy, Aer Lingus, Executive Director of HR
Mary Montgomery, Head of Inflight Services, Aer Lingus
Dear Mr Doyle,
I refer to the proposed temporary layoff of the Aer Lingus shannon based cabin crew from 21st June to 29th August, which was announced earlier today.
Notwithstanding that COVID-19 makes this an exceptionally challenging time for Aer Lingus, today’s announcement came as a great shock to the cabin crew based in Shannon, who have been in contact with me.
I would respectfully ask that this decision is re-considered by Aer Lingus, with these employees being treated in the same way as their fellow cabin crew members based in Dublin and Cork.
Can you please provide clarification in respect of the below points I raise in relation to this proposed decision:-
- I understand that these Shannon based cabin crew are to be retained on the Temporary Wage Subsidy scheme(TWSS) – is this the situation? The TWSS was put in place by government to ensure staff could be retained on the books of a company during the pandemic.
- If the Shannon based cabin crew staff are being retained on the TWSS, then they continue as employees on the books of Aer Lingus. Consequently, they should not be temporarily laid off, as was advised to them today. Furthermore, they should be treated in exactly the same way financially as their fellow crew members in Dublin and Cork. Can you provide clarify on these two points.
- The Aer Lingus Shannon to Heathrow route and transatlantic routes are vital to connectivity for our region. Can you provide clarity on a few questions here;
- Is Aer Lingus committed to re-commencing this daily flight shortly and can you please state when? I note that you have continued to retain the Heathrow route for Cork, whilst all Shannon flights on this route were cancelled – why was this the case?
- When do you expect to be re-commencing transatlantic flights from Shannon, and you might confirm the destinations?
Can you give these matters your immediate attention.
I look forward to hearing from you in the above regard.
Sincerely,
Kieran O’Donnell
Kieran O’ Donnell T.D.