Talks aimed at averting widespread disruption at Aer Lingus have resumed at the Labour Relations Commission in Dublin.
Negotiations broke down in the early hours of Saturday morning in the row over pilot rosters.
Following an invitation from the Chairman of the LRC this afternoon, management and pilots agreed to meet again and try to resolve outstanding issues.
It is understood there had been significant progress made on the short-term roster issues to which pilots had objected.
Flight crew had warned they would begin work an hour late from Tuesday, throwing the airline's schedule into chaos.
Talks broke down on issues surrounding long-term solutions to the rostering issue, which unions claim was caused by a severe shortage of pilots at the carrier, which management has denied.
Contingency plans have been put in place by Aer Lingus, with over 30,000 passengers expected to be affected by the industrial action if it goes ahead.
Passengers have been offered the option of changing flights to earlier or later travel dates, or cancelling bookings free of charge.
It is also understood the airline considered leasing aircraft and crews to keep some of the timetable operating.
There are fears of industrial action by Aer Lingus pilots spreading to the airline's bases in the UK, if the talks fail to reach agreement on rosters.
Speaking as he entered the talks, Michael Landers of the IMPACT trade union said pilots in Belfast and pilots in Gatwick have also voted by an overwhelmingly majority to take strike action.
Asked whether any agreement reached tonight could be applied to the other bases, Mr Landers said it was likely that a solution could be applied to all bases.
Aer Lingus head of group human resources Michael Grealy said: 'We're here to make sure that Aer Lingus can fly this week, that's what we're interested in doing.
'We've 30,000 passengers who we'd like to have in the air and at their destinations on Tuesday'.
