Aer Lingus pilots are balloting for industrial action - up to and including a withdrawal of service - in a row over rosters.
However, there is no immediate threat of disruption to flights as the ballot by The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) - which is a branch of IMPACT - will not be completed until 27 May.
The ballot paper issued to pilots says they will engage in industrial action if Aer Lingus management fails to address pilot grievances over rosters on both the A320 and A330 fleets by 7 June.
IALPA also want the airline to produce and implement a sustainable manpower plan to address issues including pilot number retention. No one from IALPA was available for comment.
However, pilot sources said there was now a serious shortage of pilots, as too many had been allowed to leave the airline. They said pilots were being forced to work rosters that were excessively harsh, and that the airline was hiring in contract pilots due to the shortfall in staff numbers.
Aer Lingus said it had been notified that the pilots were balloting for industrial action. A spokesperson said the airline was in an ongoing process of recruiting pilots for training. In the meantime, to deal with the intense summer schedule, the airline is taking on a number of first officers, or co-pilots, on short term contracts.
The spokesperson said this was not a new development, and was permitted under existing agreements. He also said that the two sides were continuing to engage in a bid to resolve the row, and had met today.
