Aer Lingus set to suspend flights

The airline is cutting 2,000 jobs as profits take a hit

DUBLIN, Republic of Ireland -- Ireland's national airline Aer Lingus will stop flying on Friday due to an industrial dispute, with no clear date when it will be back in the skies.

Pilots opposing new working hours are set to strike on Thursday, causing chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, with the troubled airline saying it will not be able to resume operations on Friday.

A statement from Aer Lingus on Wednesday said it was "deeply disturbed" by opposition to new rotas for pilots by their trade union, Impact.

The rotas were part of a survival plan drawn up by the Labour Relations Commission in October when Aer Lingus faced crippling losses in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"Aer Lingus will not be in a position to recommence operations on Friday May 31," said the statement.

Seven of Aer Lingus's 500 pilots have already been suspended for failing to comply with new work patterns, the Press Association reported.

A letter from Impact reportedly says the survival plan is "irrelevant." Aer Lingus, which is cutting 2,000 jobs, says this view is "totally at variance with the views of the vast majority of Aer Lingus staff."

But Michael Landers, assistant general secretary of Impact, said: "All our pilots and all the rest of our members and every other worker in the company is ready to do a full day's work on Friday.

"The only reason that flights will not operate on Friday is because the company has decided that they should not do so."

Aer Lingus has seen profits slump partly due to September 11 which hit its North American routes as services were cancelled to Washington and Neward, and also because of competition from budget airline Ryanair on the shorter routes.