Aer Lingus has announced it’s cutting up to 500 jobs in a major restructuring, but just how will that affect holidaymakers?

It’s understood that the job losses will affect between 290 and 300 staff in head office, 140 cabin crew, and 70 pilots.

This, in turn, will see the airline implementing changes to its network from this September. Overall, flying capacity will be reduced by around six per cent, affecting both long-haul and short-haul routes.

On Thursday, Aer Lingus released a statement, which reads: ‘A message to our customers: we will be making changes to some of our flights from late September 2026 and for 2027. That means we will be discontinuing some routes and reducing others to summer-only operations.

‘We are working hard to minimise disruption as much as possible for all customers affected. If your flight has been impacted, we will contact you directly in relation to reaccommodation or refund options.

‘If you booked through a travel agent, partner airline or tour operator, they will be in touch with you directly to discuss your options, including a refund if required.’

‘We appreciate your patience and will continue to keep you updated,’ it concluded.

Aer Lingus will cut routes from Dublin to Las Vegas from December 3, from Dublin to Denver after September 28, and from Dublin to Minneapolis after October 24 (the latter two were only introduced in 2024).

The airline is also cutting a service to Split in Croatia from September 29.

Routes to Hamburg, Frankfurt, Seattle and Malta will become summer-only routes, a change commencing from October.

Aer Lingus said it continues to face a ‘challenging macro-economic environment’ with significantly increased competition on its transatlantic routes.

‘Aer Lingus will consult with employees and their representatives regarding the head office function changes and the network changes,’ it said. ‘These changes could see up to 500 employees leaving the airline.’