AER LINGUS has announced that up to 500 jobs could be lost at the airline as it seeks to secure its future amid ‘continuing challenges’.
The Irish airline, which is headquartered in Dublin, confirmed changes to its network today which include reducing employee costs, removing poor performing routes and reducing its overall flying capacity.
Under the cost-saving plan, 290 head office roles at Dublin Airport could be lost, while 140 cabin roles and 70 pilot positions are also under threat.
The airline currently employs about 6,000 people and claims the changes it is putting in place are “essential to support required improvement in its operating margin, which is needed to underpin future investment”.
It further outlined the challenges it is currently facing, including ‘significantly increased transatlantic competitor capacity’, the ‘increasing seasonality of the airline’s business’ and ‘elevated fuel costs in 2026 continuing into 2027’.
The firm also states it experienced losses of €103m in the first quarter of 2026.
“To address these challenges, the airline has focussed on reducing supplier costs and has reduced senior management roles by approximately 25 per cent,” Aer Lingus confirmed in a statement issued today.
“In the next stage, the airline proposes to reduce wider employee costs in Head Office functions by approximately 25 per cent and make network changes to remove lower margin flying,” they added.
“The network changes that will begin to take effect from late September 2026 and continue into Summer 2027 will see overall flying reduced by six per cent, which will include some long-haul and short-haul routes,” they explained.
“Linked to these network changes, there will be a reduction in the use of two A330 aircraft and four A320 aircraft for peak summer 2027.”
The changes could see up to 500 employees leaving the airline over the next 12 months.
“Aer Lingus will consult with employees and their representatives regarding the Head Office function changes and the network changes,” the airline confirmed.
Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said the changes are designed to “set Aer Lingus up for the future; to ensure the airline is a strong investment case and able to weather the turbulence in our industry”.
She added: “An efficient cost base, coupled with investment in our customer experience will enable Aer Lingus to fulfil its ambition to be the airline of choice connecting Europe with North America, support future growth and continue to provide connectivity and significant economic contribution to Ireland.”
Everything from irishpost.com and the print edition is available on the Irish Post App — plus more! Download it for Android or Apple IOS devices today.
See More: Aer Lingus, Job Losses
