Aer Lingus passengers face further disruption on Monday when cabin crew repeat a one-day strike, which caused 19 flights to be cancelled yesterday.The airline has again put contingency plans in place, however, and says it will operate "close to a full schedule" of flights.
A spokeswoman said it carried about 18,500 of the 20,000 passengers due to fly with the airline yesterday. Others were accommodated on alternative services or accepted refunds.
Some 500 cabin crew, members of Impact, picketed the roundabout at the entrance to Dublin Airport from 8.30 a.m.
They were later joined in a march to the company's headquarters by about 80 of the airline's pilots, who turned out in a show of support.
Pickets were also placed at Shannon and Cork Airports.
The dispute is over the amount of change in work practice cabin crew should accept in return for a delayed 4 per cent pay increase.
Picketing cabin crew expressed anger at being labelled "inflexible" by the company.
"I wish they had seen me at 1.30 this morning after I had been looking after our passengers," said one striking crew member, Ms Elaine Harrington.
"I worked 13 hours 45 minutes yesterday to look after Aer Lingus customers on a really rotten day, and they were so grateful and so appreciative of how well we looked after them."
She had been working on a flight from Rome which was delayed because of the weather and had got home at 1.30 a.m.
"That's not an unusual thing to happen. That's what the job involves and that's the flexibility we give," she said.
Ms Ruth Fox said staff had been "pushed into" strike action because of management's refusal to negotiate a resolution.
"They are happier to spend their time and money hiring in alternative aircraft, largely from our competitors, to do the job that we should be doing today. But they seem to be determined to see us as an enemy and not an asset," she said.
Aer Lingus, however, said the "vast majority" of its 4,000 staff were committed to further change in the company, which had been transformed into a low-fares airline and opened 28 new routes over the past two years.
Impact is the only union that has not signed up to the work-practice changes needed to reduce fares further and open even more new routes, the airline says.
The most contentious issue in the dispute concerns the airline's requirement that cabin crew rosters accommodate 25-minute aircraft "turnaround times" at airports.
The union says this would result in crew working up to 7.5 hours without meal breaks and additional flights. The company responds that crew will continue to be rostered for a 70-hour fortnight as normal.
The two sides attended Labour Court talks last Sunday, and a recommendation is awaited.
If it is issued over the weekend, the union's cabin crew committee is to hold an emergency meeting to decide whether to proceed with Monday's action or ballot members on the new proposals.
Passengers on Aer Lingus flights faced minor delays departing from Shannon Airport yesterday, with the service to Baltimore-Washington cancelled.
A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta Shannon said there had been no other disruption to airport services.
Impact's assistant general secretary for the mid-west, Mr Shay Clinton, said the mood among the cabin crew was determined.
More than 50 Cork-based staff mounted a protest at the roundabout outside the airport early yesterday morning in support of their colleagues in Shannon and Dublin.
Two flights from Cork to Dublin were cancelled, but up to 100 passengers were accommodated on other charter flights.
Delays of up to 15 minutes were reported with other scheduled flights coming into and out of the airport.
