Aer Lingus flights cancelled after Covid absences

Aer Lingus has apologised after it cancelled 11 flights travelling through Irish airports on Friday and Saturday.

The airline blamed Covid-19 absence among staff, as well as industrial action in France.

It said it would contact affected passengers to offer alternative services.

Among the flights affected by sickness was a Dublin to New York flight on Friday.

Elsewhere, a return flight to Bilbao from the Irish capital, a service to Bordeaux and return flights between Dublin and London Gatwick, and Knock to Gatwick were affected.

A cap on the number of passengers which can be handled at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport has also resulted in the cancellation of a flight to the Dutch capital.

Last weekend, a number of the same routes were cancelled due to Covid-19 cases, while services were also affected at Lyon Airport in France because of industrial action by ground handling workers.

In its statement on Friday, the airline said it had "built appropriate buffers into our plans" with the return of travel demand to deal with a "reasonable level of additional disruption".

However, it said there had been "considerable operational challenges" posed by issues at some airports, combined with a "significant spike in Covid cases in recent days".