Aer Lingus manager says flight attendant’s shop-steward role ‘absolutely not’ an influence in his dismissal

Man was dismissed after incident with passenger over use of toilet on delayed flight

Marie Walsh, manager for customer and on-board service at the airline, was being questioned on Tuesday at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on points of appeal raised by Alan O’Neill, a senior flight attendant sacked by the airline in 2024.

The company is currently presenting its defence to a complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 brought by Mr O’Neill.

Mr O’Neill’s dismissal was with notice, on foot of findings of gross misconduct over his alleged behaviour towards a passenger on a delayed Marseilles-Dublin flight in April 2024.

Ms Walsh, a former senior flight attendant, gave evidence that she upheld Mr O’Neill’s dismissal from the airline on appeal.

Mr O’Neill was accused of refusing to let a passenger, a man in his 30s, to use the bathroom on a delayed flight for up to 45 minutes after take-off.

The length of time the customer had to wait is strongly disputed by Mr O’Neill’s legal team, who say he was following standard operating procedures while the pilots had the “fasten seatbelt” lit.

He told his bosses he was under strain in his personal life and that the man “triggered” him by swearing when he was first refused, the WRC was told earlier this year.

The passenger was reduced to tears by the time he had a chance to use the bathroom, when the aircraft was halfway back to Dublin from the south of France, according to the testimony of another flight attendant.

“What happened on board that day should never have happened,” Ms Walsh told the WRC. “Mr O’Neill was in authority over the cabin. He could have de-escalated.

“There was an adult who asked to use the lavatory. There were umpteen opportunities to avail of that opportunity and to advise the customer of that,” she said.

Surrounding customers complained about what they witnessed and one even told a colleague of Mr O’Neill’s she felt “intimidated”, Ms Walsh said.

“That is not how we treat our customers,” she said.

She said the incident had escalated over the course of nearly three hours in the air and on the ground at Dublin Airport, when Mr O’Neill and the passenger ran into each other again outside Terminal 2 and had a further exchange of words.

Counsel for the airline, Tom Mallon BL, appearing instructed by Katie Rooney of Arthur Cox, asked Ms Walsh about the grounds of appeal raised on behalf of Mr O’Neill by his trade union, Fórsa.

Mr Mallon said it was alleged in the appeal document there had been “clear divergence from industrial relations practice” in Mr O’Neill’s case and that he had been “penalised for his activities” as a trade union activist.

She confirmed she was aware Mr O’Neill had been a Fórsa shop steward at the airline and that she had invited him to a number of meetings in that capacity.

“Was Mr O’Neill’s position as a union activist or representative, did that in any way influence your decision?” Mr Mallon asked.

“Absolutely not,” Ms Walsh said.

The case before adjudicator Michael MacNamee was adjourned overnight.