Aer Lingus Reviews 

Travelled on return flights from Leeds Bradford to Belfast City on a number of occasions this year. Service wholly unreliable. Invariably attributed to ‘technical problems’, majority of flights have been either late and on 2 occasions, cancelled. Yes, apologies have been given but it doesn’t compensate for poor, unreliable service.

Aer Lingus failed to meet basic standards of diligence during the booking process. I have spent 6+ hours on the phone speaking to multiple individuals just trying to get a voucher so I can rebook a flight. The booking process system through customer relations was repeatedly unstable, unclear, and difficult to navigate, resulting in confusion regarding fare conditions and confirmation details. At no point did Aer Lingus provide consistent or reliable communication, and subsequent attempts to obtain clarification were met with incomplete or contradictory information. This lack of follow‑through and failure to provide accurate, timely updates constitutes a broader pattern of operational and communication deficiencies that materially affect my ability to rely on the contract of carriage. I repeatedly got that Aer Lingus would escalate this concern to their "Voucher Department" and it would be 1-2 days. Aer Lingus could not even provide direct contacts to that department, seems very odd. While EU Regulation 261/2004 does not govern booking system directly, it does require airlines to provide clear, timely information to passengers — a requirement Aer Lingus has failed to meet at any stage of this process. I am very disappointed with the lack of customer support as well. I was referred to your "policies and procedures" which I am not even sure those that are referencing them even know what they are. It has been a nightmare to work with Aer Lingus and completely unacceptable. Makes me not want to travel to Ireland which is very unfortunate as the Country itself is a great destination. At this point my expectations for Aer Lingus have been ruined to the point I am not sure that there is repair. I would rather take any other form of transportation then fly with Aer Lingus. Such a shame as I had high hopes for one of Ireland premier airlines.

My experience with Aer Lingus Customer Care has been extremely disappointing.

After returning from my flight, I discovered that two of my suitcases had been damaged while in Aer Lingus' care. My claim was handled by the Customer Care Team.

I was told to purchase replacement luggage and submit itemised receipts for reimbursement. Before spending any money, I specifically asked what value of replacement luggage I should be looking for and whether there was a maximum reimbursement limit. Rather than answering my question, I received another generic response telling me to buy replacement luggage and submit the receipts.

Following those instructions, I purchased the closest available replacements to my damaged suitcases. The exact models were no longer available, so I bought similar cases from the same retailer at a total cost of £268.

Only after submitting my receipts did Aer Lingus inform me that they would reimburse just £138, citing "maximum liability."

This information should have been provided before I was instructed to purchase replacement luggage. Had Kerolos or the Customer Care Team simply told me there was a reimbursement cap of £138, I could have made an informed purchasing decision. Instead, I was encouraged to buy replacement luggage without being given the most important piece of information.

The issue is not just the reduced reimbursement—it's the lack of transparency and poor communication throughout the claims process. Aer Lingus had multiple opportunities to explain their reimbursement limit when I asked directly, but failed to do so.

Customers should not be expected to absorb over half the replacement cost of luggage that was damaged while in the airline's care because essential information was withheld until after they had spent their own money.

This experience has left me with very little confidence in Aer Lingus Customer Care. I expected honesty, transparency and accountability. Instead, I was met with generic responses, poor communication and a reimbursement process that feels misleading.

Our flights Dublin to Charlotte, July 2026, booked with Aer Lingus, were carried by American Airlines. Our return flight was delayed by 22 hours. Aer Lingus compensation under EU regulations does not cover flights carried by another airline. American Airlines booked us into a cheap hotel, and gave a $12 per person meal voucher, expendable only in the airport, to cover 22 hours. No other compensation is available. By using AA as their carrier, Aer Lingus avoids EU rules on compensation. Buyer beware.

Shocking Service
3rd July 2026
So, after having a delay of over 2.75 hours from Belfast to Manchester we get the baggage reclaim only to wait over 2 hours for the bags to be put into the conveyor belt.
Lots of passengers were ringing the number on the phone for 'flow control' to speak to someone, each time being fobbed off with one excuse or another. One of the excuses was that the bags were in another part of the airport however some passengers have AirTags on their bags which showed that they were literally just outside, within arms length of the other side of the conveyor. Many calls later by many passengers, they then just decided to ignore and not answer the phone. Then one of the service people came to speak to everyone to say that the bags had been put into a room where they were unable to access.
Very, very poor service from Aer Lingus and their baggage handlers.
They have absolutely no respect for their customers and non-existent customer service. Rubbish service. Dreadful

Horrendous lack of customer service, overly reliant on internal process and a complete disregard for legal rights with an attitude that company policy takes precedence

As an Aer Lingus Platinum status flyer, the absolute lack of boarding discipline at Shannon Airport is completely unacceptable. Aer Lingus entirely abandons zone/priority boarding protocols here, allowing a chaotic, simultaneous free-for-all where everyone boards at the same time. There is no point in earning elite status if the airline refuses to enforce priority ground benefits. Disappointing and highly disorganised.

Have booked Dub - Toronto for December a month ago. Tried to book seats as one of us is having knee surgery three months prior to travel and need a little extra leg room. Aerlingus human chat advised that if we paid for seat with extra legroom we would be expected to assist airline staff in an emergency:

Ivo 2.25pm
• Row 14 or 15: proper Extra Legroom seats. They have a lot more legroom, but come with a fee, and also if you occupy them, you need to be able to assist the crew in the event of an emergency. That fee would be €109.99 per person per flight, so €439.96 in total.

Aer Lingus? you are a disgrace to Ireland!!! Will do my utmost to cancel these flights and book elswhere! Your horrific review status is well deserved!

Lost hundreds of euros of goods bag damages keep on denying responsibility and bring me to another airline

Never fly with them please

Flew to Birmingham for a family event last Thursday 25th june
Arrived at 3 pm Dublin Airport and flight 4.45 pm
Gate 337 the times changed four times and several incorrect messages from staff not their fault
We left at 10 pm and missed event
I am a week trying to get compensation which I am entitled to
Then next day 26th june flight delayed again returning to Dublin
Shambles

I am extremely disappointed with my recent experience with Aer Lingus.
My flight from Nashville to Dublin was cancelled on the day of departure due to operational issues, with only a few hours notice. This resulted in a delay of more than 20 hours and caused significant disruption to my travel plans.
What made the situation even more frustrating was the customer service I received when trying to get assistance. The representatives I spoke with on the phone were unhelpful, dismissive and lacked empathy for the inconvenience caused. Rather than trying to assist or explain my options, I felt that my concerns were simply brushed aside.
Flight disruptions can happen, but good customer service can make a difficult situation much easier to deal with. Unfortunately, that was not my experience with Aer Lingus.
I would think twice before booking with them again.

Today ( 1 July 2026) I have tried to do an online check in 8 times over 3 hours; I cannot do so. It keeps giving me a message about my date of birth and gender need to be the same as the booking which they are.

I got on to customer service by Phone after a 15 minute wait and was advised there was a problem doing online checkin and I would have to checkin at the airport.

Very poor experience of checkin.

Aer Lingus truly have uneducated staff, who believed themselves as Immigration officers. I am from a non European country, and I was flying from Dublin, to Budapest, as a family member of EU citizen, clearly holding STAMP4EUFAM IRL. Holders of Stamp4EUFAM, can travel to any Eu country without a visa however, this unqualified airline staff delayed me, checking what’s not, and almost got me missed my flight. Also, at the boarding gate, I literally had to argue with one of their uneducated and unqualified staff, before they could let me board the flight. This unprofessional arrogance attitude is not acceptable, and your airline staff should be trained on this. That said, it’s one of the worse airline I have taken. Never again.

⅔Disappointed with my check-in experience this morning for flight at 8.20am from Bristol to Dublin, then on to Toronto. Agent asked to see ETA for travel to Canada. Passed over email approval from Canadian Immigration which is all you get from them. Actual words of gruff response was "i need the actual ETA, this email doesnt tell me anything! Tried to explain that's all you get, and email explains check-in staff can access ETA online via passport details. Check-in lady didn't accept this, and insisted on phoning someone to find if ok, which of course it was. When check-in completed, told me off like a naughty schoolboy, saying 'we'll accept email approval to ETA this time, but next time make sure you bring the actual ETA". Not interested in me saying the email was all you receive. Shocking, and not a single trace of a smile throughout the whole transaction!

I called customer service regarding a ticket booked by mistake as part of a group booking. Having been told I could get a refund, (I called minutes after making the booking) I agreed to that, rather than changing the date, which could incur charges. However, when the refund came through it was only for the taxes, so 8 euros from a 120 euro ticket! I called customer service and they listened to the tape of our conversation and agreed that the agent has misled me. However, because I’d had the 8 euros refunded (hence a ‘refund’) the case was closed. When I challenged this, and said I had multiple other options that would have been preferable regarding this ticket (paying to change date, paying for a name change) but had listened to CS agent instead, I was told it was my responsibility to check the small print online. I’m left wondering what exactly is the point of Aer Lingus’ customer service?? Certainly it can’t be to serve customers.

I really think this company needs to be looked into how they issue refunds, they reject your claim with out even asking the customer if they agree with their decision which quite often makes no sense at all about the dispute you have with them, it really is verging on criminal and their refusal to legally deal with claims in a fair way

Aer Lingus could do a good job if there are no barriers or extenuating circumstances. If you have a service dog, if you need to change flight dates, if you feel you might need a refund; DO NOT FLY WITH AER LINGUS. Any time you ask for clarity, it is met with apathy with an air of confidence. Questions that would take any other airline 5 minutes to find answers for, took literal days relying on kicking the can down the road to different departments. They rely heavily on voucher credit for refunds which doesn't include the cost of transferring the ticket dates, so they literally paid themselves $1,400 just to book us a flight that we couldn't ride because of service dog standards that we can't meet, that we couldn't know about about because they can't give us a straight answer.

I tried for days to book an advertised promotional fare on the Aer Lingus website. Every single time I tried to make the booking I reached a screen saying “You’re booked” and that I’ll receive email confirmation – but no booking reference, no trip details, and of course, no email ever arrives.

I contacted customer service multiple times, and they have been utterly useless. Confirmed it wasn't working for them either and when I asked if they could make the booking on my behalf quoted me a fare £200 more than advertised on the website. Apparently even though they acknowledged the system is not working, they are unable to give an online price over the phone.

After completing the contact form and being assured that the team were investigating, I then received the following response, after the promotion was over from CS.

"Thank you for contacting us.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.

As no booking reference was issued, we have reviewed the matter and can confirm that your booking was not successfully completed.

In such cases, if a payment has been authorised or temporarily held, it is not captured and will automatically be released back to your account. You should receive the funds back within 7 days, depending on your bank.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please let us know if you need any further assistance in completing your booking."

It's hard not to believe that Aer Lingus are advertising promotional prices they do not honour.

Never again

Horrible family experience with no customer care or service. Family split up despite booked seats and zero care.

Aer Lingus overbooked our flight from Rome to Dublin and my husband and I were not able to board because there were not enough seats. I purchased these tickets two months in advance. After being sent all the way back to find the ticket counter from our gate, we searched for someone to help us, but everyone kept passing us off to the next person. Eventually, after hours of trying to find help, they offered us a new flight the following day, but that would have caused us to miss our next flight to return home. They refused to help book us with another airline to get us to Dublin when we needed to. Everyone we worked with at the Airport in Rome, Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, was horrible. Almost every person was rude, not accommodating, offered nothing for compensation - both Aer Lingus and FCO Airport employees. The man they sent to "help" us, began raising his voice and arguing with us when we said we could not accept the offer of the next day flight due to that causing us to miss our next flight. He tried to use intimidation (by getting in my husbands face) and lording his authority. Repeatedly telling us we didn't know what we were talking about. When we asked for his name, he refused and told us we could go to the police. Completely unnecessary escalation, especially while my husband remained calm the entire time. Overall, we had a horrible experience at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and with the Aer Lingus Airline. I'd recommend booking with anyone else.