Around 60,000 passengers are set to be affected next week by the cancellation of flights in and out of the State's main airports due to a 24-hour strike announced this morning by air traffic controllers.
The stoppages on Thursday, February 28th, at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports follow the breakdown of talks between the Impact trade union and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) yesterday.
Around 100 controllers working a 24-hour roster are in dispute over what they say are excessive levels of overtime required to run the service safely.
They withdrew from a voluntary overtime scheme last month, leading to flight disruption at all three airports. An official overtime ban will be effective from next Tuesday.
The IAA said today the controllers had been engaged in "sporadic unofficial action" and said today's strike notice was "a blatant breach" social partnership, the local agreement and industrial relations procedure.
"Safety is the authority's highest priority and we will ensure that aircraft and passenger safety is not jeopardised by any disruptive action by air traffic controllers," an IAA statement said.
It also expressed disappointment that the union did not wait for the outcome of talks due before the Labour Court next Monday, February 25th.
Around 500 flights will be cancelled if the strike goes ahead.
Impact said it "regrets that talks with the IAA have failed to produce agreement on sustainable solutions to the chronic staffing shortages, which has made this action necessary".
The union say staffing level have remained unchanged for over six years despite traffic volumes increasing by around a third. This has led to those on the voluntary overtime scheme working over 10 extra hours a week.
The company says it has already hired trainees who will not be available until late next year. It is also attempting to recruit qualified controllers but that they still require several months training.
Cork Airport said it regrets the inconvenience and advised intending passengers to contact their airlines for further information.
Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said the National Implementation Body should intervene because the level of disruption "would be extreme" if the stoppage goes ahead.