Aer Lingus to cut up to 500 jobs and reduce capacity

Aer Lingus plans to cut up to 500 jobs (290 head-office roles, 140 cabin crew, 70 pilots) — about 7.7% of its roughly 6,500 employees — and reduce flight capacity by 6%. The move follows a €103m quarterly loss, higher fuel costs and tougher transatlantic competition; the Dublin routes to Denver, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Split will be axed and Frankfurt becomes seasonal. Implementation runs from late September 2026 to summer 2027; unions have vowed to resist compulsory redundancies (second source: RTE). Update (11 Aug 2026): The European Works Council of parent company IAG is demanding that the consultation process at Aer Lingus be paused immediately until the group has met its own information and consultation obligations towards the body. Aer Lingus rejects any such obligation, arguing the measures are not transnational because they affect only Ireland-based staff. The airline needs to raise its operating margin from around 11% to between 12% and 15% to secure further IAG investment in new aircraft. Source: The Irish Times, 11 Aug 2026. Update (26.09.2026): Aer Lingus is offering office staff redundancy payments of up to €180,000 (The Irish Times, 26.09.2026).