Thousands of people booked to fly from Manchester airport to the US on Aer Lingus have been told their flights are in jeopardy as the airline considers closing its base at the end of March.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be switched to another airline operating the same route.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) insists passengers whose flights are cancelled must be offered the chance to travel “on the same day as their original flight and via the same route”.
Virgin Atlantic flies from Manchester to both New York JFK and Orlando with near-identical timings to the Irish airline’s.
But travellers booked flights that look unlikely to go ahead have told The Independent that they have been refused the option to switch to the Virgin flights.
Aer Lingus has told passengers asking to be rebooked on nonstop services that the original flight “has not been cancelled” and therefore it is “unable to offer an alternative itinerary with a different airline at this time”.
Passenger John Fielding told The Independent: “We have business class seats booked to Orlando in May. Aer Lingus have offered a refund or an economy flight to Dublin with a four-hour wait before a connection to Orlando in business class. This is not an option for us with two young children.”
The CAA requires the core characteristics of the original flight to be respected if possible. In this case, that means a nonstop in business class from Manchester, not a part-economy journey with a four-hour stopover in Dublin.
If an airline which cancels the flight cannot provide a suitable replacement “on the same day as the original flight and via the same route”, the authority’s view is that the airline should seek flights on alternative airlines.
“If such a re-routing option is available, affected passengers should be offered the choice of this option,” the CAA says.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “Aer Lingus can confirm that in addition to re-routing on its own services it will also consider options on other airlines.”
But when Mr Fielding and his party asked to exercise the right to a nonstop journey, they were told: “We are unable to rebook you on a Virgin Atlantic flight.” They have since been told the case “is now closed”.
The party have rebooked on Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow, and have asked Aer Lingus for reimbursement of the original fare and additional costs.
But the Irish airline insisted: “No flights have been cancelled at this point and therefore the [passengers’ rights] regulation does not apply.
“We have a dedicated team actively working through all re-accommodation requests and rebooking customers free of charge. Customers do not need to contact us at this time.
Aer Lingus has stopped selling seats from Manchester to the US from the end of March.
The Independent has asked the Irish airline when it will make a decision on whether flights will go ahead. It is passengers’ interests to take no action until that time: in the event of cancellation, Aer Lingus appears obliged to buy seats on Virgin Atlantic.
The carrier is consulting on closing its base at Manchester. Recent operations have been severely disrupted, with a week’s flights between the city and New York JFK cancelled due to what Aer Lingus called “technical and operational issues”.
According to an internal Aer Lingus staff circular seen by the Irish Independent, staff were told: “It is our intention to consult over issues, such as what a phased reduction in the operation would look like, both in terms of dates and resourcing.”
Read more: The UK dual citizen passport rules you need to know
Passenger fury at Aer Lingus Manchester airport cancellations
Record passenger numbers last year for Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester
Most reliable airlines of 2025 revealed
UK firms expect record rise in ‘Sunshine Saturday’ holiday bookings
The reasons why your visa or ESTA to visit the US can be canceled
Frequent fliers weigh in on the most annoying passenger habits
