Aer Lingus pilot’s WRC case adjourned after he challenges warning linked to data disclosures

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Workplace Relations Commission has adjourned Dale Connolly’s complaints against Aer Lingus to a future date. Connolly, a captain on the airline’s transatlantic routes, alleges he was penalised after raising concerns about staff information he says was accessible on internal systems. The claims, brought under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and the Payment of Wages Act 1991, remain unresolved.

At the hearing, Connolly said he had found leave spreadsheets and later files including personal emails, a birth certificate and police records. He said he reported the access issue and raised it with colleagues. Aer Lingus said his concerns were dealt with in 2024 and disputed that he had been suspended from a flight; its representative argued that his disciplinary case concerned his email to a company officer and WhatsApp posts, which were not protected disclosures.

The airline issued Connolly a 12-month verbal warning over posts in a pilots’ WhatsApp group and the tone of an email. Connolly said the warning remained on his personnel file and had prevented him from applying for two promotion opportunities. The WRC has not yet ruled on the complaints.