An IT outage caused all Dublin-originating Aer Lingus flights bound for the UK and Europe to be cancelled after 14:00 local time on Saturday, September 10th. Before the announcement, Aer Lingus passengers had been queueing for hours while check-in procedures were carried out manually. Meanwhile, the home-based competitor Ryanair has already taken advantage of Aer Lingus' IT meltdown by offering stranded passengers special rescue fares. Let's take a closer look at what is going on.
The IT meltdown
The nightmare for Aer Lingus passengers started at 9:00 local time on Saturday, September 10th. In a tweet, the airline announced that a major connectivity issue with a network service provider was causing severe disruptions to the cloud-based system responsible for the airline's check-in and boarding processes. Additionally, the airline's website and mobile app were also not functioning.
Given the inability of the airline to communicate with customers, Aer Lingus asked all passengers whose flights had been cancelled not to travel to Dublin airport to avoid massive congestion. Indeed, the accumulated delays of the morning flights had already caused endless queues and crowds at Dublin Terminal 2, with reported images of passengers being asked to wait outside the terminal while check-in processes were tried to be carried out manually.
Massive schedule disruption and Ryanair's checkmate
Although most flights affected by disruptions were scheduled to depart from Dublin, the IT meltdown also affected Aer Lingus flights leaving Belfast, Shannon and Cork. However, an airline spokesperson stated these flights are likely to be operated, even if affected by delays; the same applies to flights from London to Dublin, where long queues were reported at Aer Lingus check-in desks at Heathrow Terminal 2. The only two exceptions to Aer Lingus's massive schedule disruption are flights from Portugal and Spain, which are supposed to be operated according to schedule, albeit with delays.
Meanwhile, the Dublin-based competitor Ryanair has already taken advantage of Aer Lingus's IT meltdown. In a tweet, the low-cost carrier stated it was offering rescue fares for Aer Lingus passengers stranded in Dublin, Cork, and Shannon. The €100 special fare can be booked at the airline's desks at the three airports.
Aer Lingus's response to the incident
As the past few months proved to everyone, flight delays and cancellations can prove particularly hard for airlines to manage. Besides the massive impact on airlines' costs, flight disruptions negatively affect the perception passengers have of the airline they are flying with.
To manage the crisis, Aer Lingus announced it would get back to customers as soon as the IT issue is solved. Furthermore, all passengers affected by delays and cancellations will be provided with the possibility to change their travel plans free of charge, either through the airline's call center or social media channels. Additionally, once the IT system is restored, Aer Lingus will try and re-accommodate affected passengers as efficiently as possible. Furthermore, information will be shared regarding the passengers' compensation rights under Regulation (EC) 261/2004.
Simple Flying reached out to Aer Lingus for further comment. We will update the article with any additional announcements from the airline.
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