An Aer Lingus pilot who was demoted following what was described as a "serious breach of discipline" during a flight from Cork airport has won a pay claim against the airline.
Robert Mooney, Malahide, Co Dublin, was captain of an aircraft on the morning of December 7th, 2000, that returned to Cork shortly after take-off.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal was told he acted in the belief that there was something wrong with the pressurised system of the aircraft.
A subsequent investigation by the airline, however, found that Mr Mooney was at fault and that his behaviour in the incident amounted to a serious breach of discipline. He was demoted to the position of first officer and a dispute subsequently arose regarding his salary.
A witness for Aer Lingus told the tribunal that the aircraft pressurisation had been fully working on the occasion, and both flight crew had failed to follow standard procedure.
The witness, who had been a pilot for 37 years, said the incident had been a very serious one and had affected the safety of everybody on board the plane.
It was the decision of the witness, who was chief pilot at the time of the incident, to demote Mr Mooney. It was his intention Mr Mooney would remain on his existing salary until the pay for a first officer "caught up" with that rate. It was his belief that there was custom and practice for this, the witness said.
The tribunal, however, said there was a "most surprising" lack of information from the airline as to what was meant by a demotion.
While it was clear that a "most grave and serious incident" had taken place, Mr Mooney could not be blamed for not understanding where he stood in relation to pay when the company had failed to outline its intention.
