About 3,000 staff in the Dublin Airport Authority . . .

including those in Shannon and Cork, as well as another estimated 200 former Team Aer Lingus staff now employed by aircraft maintenance firm SRTechnics . . . are entitled to discounted standby airfares that offer significant savings on long-haul flights in particular. Not all DAA staff are automatically entitled to the perks, and there is a waiting list of roughly 1,500 hoping to join the scheme.

Last year, Aer Lingus moved to eliminate the scheme for DAA staff, but the move was strongly opposed by DAA staff who balloted for strike action. The ballot of various union members, including those from Siptu and the TEEU, resulted in the highest-ever voting turnout.

The strike was averted when the DAA and Aer Lingus came to a financial agreement.

The DAA contributes about 300,000 a year to Aer Lingus towards the cost of administering the cheap flights scheme.