Aer Lingus problems

Speaking to the Reuters news agency Aer Lingus Chief Executive Officer, Lynne Embleton, said that she needs several hundred million Euros in additional liquidity due to continuous disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

She does not expect the easing of Irish travel curbs to provide significant relief.

The report says she told an online parliamentary transport committee briefing that the Irish flag carrier was losing more than one million Euros a day.   

The airline recently announced company-wide layoffs and the closure of its crew base in Shannon, one of its four bases, an issue scrutinised by the Irish parliamentarians. Embleton defended this decision which, she said, would not be reversed as the number of flights out of Shannon did not justify a crew base at the airport.

The Aer Lingus Chief Executive insisted the move did not signal a retreat from the Irish regions but said further restructuring was required. She could not guarantee that there would be no further job losses at the airline. “I’d love to be able to give assurances that there won’t be job losses and there won’t be changes required, but I can’t. We will be smaller for some time to come, unfortunately, and it will take a long time to fully recover.” 

She said discussions with Irish commuter start-up Emerald Airlines were progressing well but were not yet concluded.  The collapse of Stobart Air has meant that the most profitable routes have been taken over by other airlines. 

See BTN 14 June Stobart Air collapses and 21 June CityFlyer and easyJet at Belfast City.

www.aerlingus.com

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John Richmond, Lochwinnoch United Kingdom

Aer lingus is being missed at Glasgow.