Why Thousands of Fans Are Worried They're at Risk of Missing Taylor Swift's Dublin Eras Tour

The Eras Tour has been taking over Europe for the past few weeks, but ahead of the three-night show in Dublin, Ireland, some fans fear they might not make it despite already securing tickets.

Fans gearing up to attend Taylor Swift’s highly-anticipated tour at the Aviva Stadium—which kicks off on June 28 and runs through June 30—are facing a travel hiccup due to Aer Lingus’ air strike.

In the days leading up to the shows, fans have reached out to the airline with questions and concerns.

“Hey @AerLingus- if our family can’t get to @taylorswift13 in Dublin next weekend the pilots will be the least of your problems. You do not want a teenage girl as an enemy. They are the scariest people on earth. And I’ll be having her reach out to you directly,” one concerned mother, named Cara Portnoy, tweeted at the Irish-based airline.

“We are in the same boat. This is awful,” another user responded in the thread.

Portnoy told the Irish Independent that she and her husband, along with their three children and some additional family members, were all flying in for the concert, spending around $500 per ticket.

“We have spent almost $10,000 for a family holiday before even setting foot in Ireland, and that’s not counting costs like pet sitters, car rental reservations, etc. That is all now in jeopardy,” she explained, adding that while she doesn’t “blame the pilots for wanting a fair wage,” she’s upset with the “entire situation and Aer Lingus’ way of dealing with it.”

“There is absolutely no way to speak to a human being without waiting on hold for hours, with virtual assistants spewing the same scripted responses,” she added, noting that it’s unclear if they’ll be able to make the flight overseas at all to see the pop star.

Another mom shared similar concerns on X, looping in the star herself in hopes of gaining more visibility: “@taylorswift13 thousands of your fans flying into Dublin may not make it to your concert due to an @AerLingus work stoppage. We tried to get tix to every major American city concert last year and could not. Dublin was the only show my daughters and I could get tix for.”

“Okay so @AerLingus is striking and my return flight from Dublin has been cancelled. So now idk if I’m gonna be able to make it to #TSTheErasTour this weekend. I know there’s bigger problems going on in the world rn but I’m so sad, I’ve been looking forward to this for a year,” another heartbroken and worried Swiftie wrote.

Tweets continued to pour in, with many calling on Taylor Nation for visibility and to put pressure on the airline to provide a solution for those being inconvenienced.

On June 21, Aer Lingus took to their Instagram page to announce that the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association would be striking on June 29 from 6am to 1pm, in addition to “the existing work to rule action from 26 June,” highlighting that it would “cause major disruption to our customers” with the possibility of flight cancellations.

The contact centers are said to be experiencing a large volume of calls, however, those traveling between the 26th and July 2 can change their booking to a later date for free or cancel the flight altogether and apply for a refund/refund voucher, which, unfortunately, doesn’t help for those who booked travel specifically for the concert.

“This is nonsense! Pay your pilots! Look at what this is causing, Taylor Swift performing next weekend, you are crushing the money that will be made in tourism this weekend! And crushing the spirit of some Americans who are coming over for the show,” one comment read under the post, as another angrily echoed, “Unbelievable!! It's easy to think you did it on purpose since it's Taylor Swift's concert weekend. People spent SO MUCH MONEY one year in advance to get tickets. @taylornation.”

“Flying home from New York for Taylor Swift concert and you have cancelled my flight and moved me to a flight after the concert. All that money spent on tickets and hotels. Truly awful way to treat customers,” a third traveler noted.

Per the Irish Mirror, Swift’s arrival in the capital city is expected to add €150 million (or roughly $160 million) to the economy, with an influx of 150,000 fans from Ireland and abroad, as many American fans have been flocking to various European cities due to cheaper ticket prices. Per Billboard, some tickets are estimated to be roughly 87% cheaper than the average price in the United States.

Neither Swift, nor her team, have issued any kind of statement about the situation, but in the words of Justin Timberlake—and thousands of uncertain fans—"this is going to ruin the tour."

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