Thousands of passengers were left high and dry today as 16 British Airways flights between Dublin and London were cancelled.
The 48 hour walkout by pilots over pay will mean the cancellation of 1,600 BA flights over the two days.
It will hit another 16 flights between Dublin Airport and Heathrow tomorrow.
And there may be further disruption and delays on Wednesday because of the knock-on chaos to the airline's schedule.
The strike by members of the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) is the first in BA's history.
Flights between Dublin and London City airport were not hit because they are operated by a separate pilot group.
The first flight cancelled out of Dublin today was the 7.10am to Heathrow - a favourite with the business community attending meetings in the UK capital.
A further seven flights from Dublin to London were cancelled.
At the same time eight flights from Heathrow to Dublin were also grounded.
More than 4,000 BA pilots stayed at home as the long running dispute over pay escalated to full blown strike.
Some 145,000 passengers fly with the UK's flagship airline each day.
The 48 hour stoppage could cost the airline an estimated €80 million.
If there's no progress in pay talks, a further strike will go ahead on September 27.
Passengers hit by the strike were advised to visit the FAQ section of the BA website to explore options for refunds or rearranging flights.
