{"id":414024,"date":"2026-03-31T23:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/414024\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T23:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:42:13","slug":"gardai-called-to-aer-lingus-hq-when-pilot-said-he-was-going-on-hunger-strike-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/414024\/","title":{"rendered":"Garda\u00ed called to Aer Lingus HQ when pilot said he was going on hunger strike \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garda\u00ed<\/a> were called to Aer Lingus<\/a>\u2019s headquarters when a pilot declared at a meeting with human resources that he was going on hunger strike unless the airline agreed to make disclosures to staff about alleged toxic fume incidents on its jets and to make payments to him worth \u20ac3 million, a witness has said.<\/p>\n

The Workplace Relations Commission<\/a> (WRC) has been hearing evidence from Carmel Byrne, a human resources legal case manager at the airline who was involved in a formal grievance process brought by Tom O\u2019Riordan, as the airline continues its defence of a whistleblower penalisation complaint by the sacked pilot. <\/p>\n

The airline denies O\u2019Riordan\u2019s allegations and has stated that no passengers or crew were exposed to any safety risk.<\/p>\n

Byrne said she was involved in a meeting with O\u2019Riordan in February 2024 at Aer Lingus\u2019s offices at Dublin Airport<\/a> at which O\u2019Riordan read a statement with \u201cdemands\u201d about the payment of his salary and pension. He also asked that the airline make a statement to its staff with the details of \u201cfume related issues\u201d. <\/p>\n

If the airline did not comply, O\u2019Riordan said in his statement, he would \u201cimmediately\u201d go on hunger strike and commence a protest action, the witness said. <\/p>\n

The statement went on to say: \u201cSomeone will die from these exposures, be they crew or passengers. It is my categorical imperative to make sure that does not happen,\u201d the tribunal heard. <\/p>\n

Byrne said O\u2019Riordan had sought that Aer Lingus pay his salary until he hit retirement age at 65, a 21 per cent pension contribution on top of that, and also mentioned a \u201cgratuity in lieu of damages\u201d. \u201cIt was a figure that exceeded \u20ac3 million,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Riordan also wanted Aer Lingus to enter into a \u201cwritten agreement to truthfully and honestly engage with others who\u2019ve suffered from fume-related issues and injuries\u201d, Byrne said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat day, he was refusing to leave the building, unless we as the people appointed to consider the grievance could agree to it, or get someone who could,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, we were a bit taken aback. I haven\u2019t had someone go on hunger strike in a grievance hearing before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he was on hunger strike if we did not meet his demands and he would not leave Shamrock House,\u201d she said in answer to questions by counsel for the airline Tom Mallon. <\/p>\n

Byrne said the stand-off started at noon and continued at least past 6pm. \u201cHe was refusing to leave; the garda\u00ed were called. He had advised the garda\u00ed \u2013 the garda\u00ed stated to me \u2013 that O\u2019Riordan had agreed to leave if I and Conor O\u2019Dwyer would meet with him,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Counsel for the complainant David Byrnes cross-questioned Byrne on Tuesday on her part in the second of three disciplinary cases brought against his client in May 2024. <\/p>\n

The witness said her part in the process was to \u201csupport\u201d the decision-maker, Mary Montgomery, director of in-flight services, in conducting a probe into a post on social media by O\u2019Riordan. <\/p>\n

The witness said O\u2019Riordan had admitted control of a social media account in the first disciplinary process and that since the post \u201ccame from the same account\u201d, it amounted to a \u201crepeat occurrence of facts that were not in dispute\u201d. <\/p>\n

This meant the step of a formal investigation could be skipped, she said. \u201cIt was the Aer Lingus social media team who were gathering all the information,\u201d Byrne said. <\/p>\n

Byrnes said an investigation was meant to \u201cestablish the facts from the outset, not piggyback the other findings\u201d. He argued a higher standard of fairness was required in an internal disciplinary matter when a protected disclosure was involved. <\/p>\n

He said that since the witness had no involvement in the instigation of the disciplinary process, she was \u201coverreaching\u201d by giving evidence on the use of the policy to skip the investigation stage. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you constantly trying to give your superiors cover?\u201d counsel asked. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea what I\u2019m being asked right now,\u201d the witness said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you stating under oath that skipping the investigation stage in this process is in compliance with the policy?\u201d counsel said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am satisfied we conducted \u2013 I suppose Montgomery conducted \u2013 a fair process,\u201d the witness said. <\/p>\n

The matter has been adjourned overnight and is scheduled to continue through the Easter legal holidays.<\/p>\n

In internal complaints, O\u2019Riordan alleged that he was ordered to fly an empty Airbus A320 passenger jet, EI-DEN, on a repositioning flight from London to Dublin on 5th June, 2023. He wrote in one document the jet was \u201cunfit for service\u201d and that he was \u201cpoisoned\u201d by toxic fumes. <\/p>\n

The tribunal has heard that an air safety report recorded that as the aircraft was on approach into Dublin Airport, Mr O\u2019Riordan and his first officer noticed a smell \u2013 which his lawyers have attributed to \u201cengine fumes\u201d, and donned oxygen masks. <\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Riordan was evacuated to hospital by paramedics and did not return to working as a pilot, the WRC has heard. <\/p>\n

He was dismissed from his \u20ac153,00-a-year job last September after what Aer Lingus\u2019s legal team has called \u201ca campaign of disruption\u201d by the former passenger jet captain \u2013 including the alleged posting of \u201cfalsehoods and untruths\u201d on social media, mounting a picket on its offices, and a hunger strike. <\/p>\n

He alleges that cuts to his sick pay in January 2024, its total withdrawal in April 2025, and company disciplinary processes pursued against him all amounted to whistleblower penalisation. <\/p>\n

The airline\u2019s lawyers say O\u2019Riordan has \u201cdefamed\u201d the airline and senior members of its management team \u2013 and that no passengers or crew were exposed to any safety risk. <\/p>\n

The complaints against Aer Lingus Ltd are being heard under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Payment of Wages Act 1994, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. <\/p>\n

Byrnes is instructed by Setanta Solicitors in the matter; Mallon by Arthur Cox LLP. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Garda\u00ed were called to Aer Lingus\u2019s headquarters when a pilot declared at a meeting with human resources that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[2442,956,9,10,26,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,80,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-414024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-aer-lingus","9":"tag-an-garda-siochana","10":"tag-breaking-news","11":"tag-breakingnews","12":"tag-dublin-airport","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-featured-news","15":"tag-featurednews","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-topstories","26":"tag-work","27":"tag-workplace-relations-commission"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116326442351300502","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}