We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
TAYLOR SWIFT FANS are among those affected by Aer Lingus flight cancellations as a result of industrial action.
The American pop star is set to play three nights at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, beginning this Friday, 28 June. Tickets sold out instantly when they went on sale a year ago — but now a few are back on the market, as fans across the world have been forced to resell after Aer Lingus cancelled and altered hundreds of flights.
One fan, Lynsey Van der Putten, had booked her flights from Belgium to Dublin back in February to be able to see the show, as Swift wasn’t stopping in Belgium on her acclaimed ‘Eras Tour’.
She received an email from the airline stating that industrial action may come into effect, but it was only on Friday that a message came from Aer Lingus informing her that her flight was to be changed.
“I got a text message that said due to the industrial action, this is your new itinerary,” she told The Journal. “The flight to Dublin was still the same, so it was fine. I would be able to get to Dublin and go to the show that evening.”
However, her flight home had been changed from Sunday evening to Monday morning, meaning she had to rush to secure accommodation for the Sunday night.
“Obviously I was in a bit of a panic,” she said. “Because it was already really hard to get a hotel back in February for just the evening itself.”
She found accommodation, booked it for the Sunday night, and was then told by Aer Lingus that her Saturday flight to see the concert that evening had now been changed to Sunday morning.
“That means I can’t make it to the concert,” she said. Lynsey tried to contact Aer Lingus’ customer service to see if they could put her on a flight the day she had booked to fly out, but received no response.
She is planning to wait until tomorrow to sell on her ticket and apply for a refund, in the hopes that she may manage to get a place on an earlier flight.
Another fan, Chrissy from Germany, told The Journal that she was forced to sell her tickets when Aer Lingus cancelled their flight to Dublin.
“I’m a huge Swiftie, that’s why I wanted to do as many concerts as possible,” she said. “I really fell in love with Dublin last time I was there.”
She bought the tickets in July of last year and booked her flights with Aer Lingus in mid-May to attend the Saturday concert.
“When we found out about the strike, Aer Lingus cancelled our flight on Saturday at 2 pm and rebooked us to the Friday 2 pm flight.”
However, Chrissy and her travel companion can’t get the Friday off work to travel so close to the date, and Ryanair is now fully booked for the dates needed.
“That’s when we faced the fact that we can’t attend the Eras tour in Dublin and sold our tickets,” she said. They have requested a refund from Aer Lingus, but are yet to receive it.
Other fans have taken to X to implore the airline to make amends with pilots’ union IALPA. Over 35,000 passengers have been disrupted as a result of industrial action, as Aer Lingus pilots seek a pay increase of 23.8%.
Aer Lingus had a full year operating profit of €225 million in 2023 – a 400% increase on the year prior.
Earlier this morning, Taoiseach Simon Harris urged the airline and IALPA to “engage” rather than “put people through agony and chaos”, as the dispute over pay continues.
Aer Lingus and IALPA are due to attend separate Labour Court meetings later today.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Lucky them saving their ears from that torture.
@Andrew Kenny: OK Boomer, are Crosby, Stills and Nash not touring anymore? Is that why you’re lashing out at young folk just having fun…
@Sea Point: Young, you forgot the most important one
@Sea Point:
In all fairness though, her music is shyte…
@Regular John: it keeps me up all night…
What is it with powerful outspoken indecently thinking young women that , triggers so many men
@Robert Halvey: its because they are snowflakes and get easily upset with anything to do with Taylor Swift
@Robert Halvey: in this case, because she is none of the things in your list. I think it is the ridiculous hype that winds people up. Swift is a prototype for a certain business model in the music industry. That’s her real significance. It began with Presley and the Beatles and is now at the stage marked by swifts marketing,merchandising machine. Worth studying but the music itself ,though popular, is nothing to write home about.
@Robert Halvey: Just one of many things that upsets them I’d imagine. They spend their days complaining and accusing everyone and everything of being “woke”, constantly angry.
@Robert Halvey: i don’t like her music. I don’t like Ed Sheerans music does that mean I’m triggered by him?
@Alan: That’s fair, I think her music is the blandest type of pop that would never interest me. Very little pop music has any interest for me, at the best of times.
She gets a particular level of venom directed towards her that is just not justified though. She is extremely successful and worked hard to achieve that success. She has shone a light on how artists can take control of their music, via the Taylor Versions (which, regardless of what genre or artists you or I like more, benefits from).
Pretty sure that the most vitriolic types that attack her for doing her thing, are the same types that follow people like Andrew Tate or Trump.
@Robert Halvey: That’s an interesting point. Why do males react so negatively to successful women?
@Patrick MC Dermott: ‘Males’ may, Men don’t.
Male Taylor Swift fans getting their knickers in a twist over comments and calling other men snowflakes ?? … LOL, you couldn’t make that up !
@ben wu: but then these records come out in multiple formats and the fans buy them all. Extremely cynical marketing? Plus she doesn’t write all the songs herself, so the image is a composite of various other peoples ideas. Which is fine if you make a point of indicating that. End of the line for me is her bringing her boyfriend onstage ffs lol liberation for women, that’s what I preach
@Patrick MC Dermott: So because she’s a woman we have to like her music and say she’s great?
@Alan: As far as I know, regarding the Taylor Versions for those 6 albums, she has always had a songwriting credit, or co-contributing songwriting credit on every song. It’s literally the reason she was able to re-record them when she got blocked from buying the masters.
There are not many major artists that can pull off that sort of move, Prince may have been one, but he chose a different road.
That her fans bought those records, is not really of too much interest to me, and from what I’ve heard, a significant number of people that are not her fans (people that write songs) also bought them just to send a signal to the types that are buying up back catalogues just to profit off of.
@Ger Whelan: same here too much hype about them and music is over played
@Martin Bishop: ha ha
@Martin Bishop: More like they are baffled over peoples obsession with her.
@James T.Kirk: Do you not find it a little odd, that the ones that post on every article about her and shout loud about how much they dislike her, are the same types that view every article and think their comment has value?
@ben wu: her music all same and as for blowing his own trumpet well the world would be better place without him in it
@Karen Marten: Music tastes are subjective. There are a lot of very successful artists for whom I have utterly no interest in. I don’t engage in disparaging them or their fans, since…why bother? Could also add that success is a metric that is objective, whether number of records sold, or number of concert goers.
I’m fine with liking a lot of artists that don’t have pop success or mainstream recognition, I just don’t see any point in just hating on ones that I wouldn’t listen to. It seems very much like a waste of time.
No idea what the rest of your post even means.
I’m sure mammy and daddy will sort it out for them.
No wonder the Hoteliers where giving out about the strike, they where fleecing all these people flying in for the concert.
Oh diddums so sick of hearing about her ans hearing her naff sings
@Karen Marten: ok Karen
@orb7eckn: and what exactly are you saying ok Karen to. Oh could it be you are calling me A Karen
@Karen Marten: I’m sooo not upset .
Back in my day, a swifty was a quickly rolled joint.
What is going on here? A person with an average voice and who puts together two and three-chord jingles is paid billions? Plato warned that the decline and fall of civilisation would be preceded by the decay of its music. Future looks grim
“Shake it off…..”!!!!!
She make a great golf club
When will this Swift nonsense end?
It’s going on for weeks, just do your concerts and get lost.
There are other things going on besides these First World problems
Great.. Might be a few cheap tickets available then.
I only ever seen her eye glitch but I’ve never heard her voice and there’s a reason for that.
Ahh boo and hoo too!
Dear Friends in Music,
As a Non-Touring Independent Artist, it’s difficult to grow a fan base.
I’m looking for your help in building a bigger following on Spotify.
I would be very grateful if you could open the link below and click the FOLLOW BUTTON and then click the follow button on my Spotify page.
Very much appreciated,
Thank you
Patrick
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/patrickwestman/all-my-colours-fade-to-blue
Oh, the Humanity!
Bought two tickets, not for me I hasten to add, but have listened to a few of her songs, and she’s not bad. More a Zep fan myself, with a bit of Mahler or Boulez thrown in for good measure, but now when she comes on the radio, I don’t turn the dial as they say.
have your say