Mr Willie Walsh has been confirmed as the chief executive of Aer Lingus. His first job will be to brief staff today on the rescue plan approved by the airline's board last night. Mr Walsh (39) said his "immediate priority is to move ahead with the urgent implementation of the restructuring plan".

Union representatives will be briefed this morning on the plan, which has already been backed by the Government. It is understood that its support was critical to the board's decision to adopt the plan, which involves 2,500 redundancies.

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