Aer Lingus: Nine return flights cancelled due to Covid spike

Irish airline Aer Lingus cancelled nine return flights and one direct flight on Friday due to a spike in Covid-19 cases among staff.

Return flights from Dublin to Amsterdam, Gatwick, Brussels and Birmingham were all cancelled.

A further three return flights have been cancelled on Saturday.

Industrial action at airports in Bordeaux and Lyon also led to the cancellation of one return flight to Bordeaux on Friday.

The airline has confirmed a further two return flights to Lyon on Saturday have also been cancelled.

Aer Lingus has apologised and has said it is working to secure alternative travel options for the passengers affected.

"Just over 1% of Aer Lingus flights have been impacted by cancellations in June", a spokesperson said.

"Aer Lingus anticipated the return of demand for travel once Covid restrictions were removed and built appropriate buffers into our plans in order to deal with a reasonable level of additional disruption.

"System pressures and ongoing issues at some airports and among third party suppliers have created considerable operational challenges which have been compounded by a significant spike in Covid cases in recent days."

The latest cancellations come after three Aer Lingus flights were scrapped on Monday, 13 on Sunday and 12 on Wednesday due to air traffic control strikes in France, Italy and Spain, as well as Covid-19 cases among staff.