Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, February 2026 — Aer Lingus has appointed Tara Flynn as Chief People Officer. In this role, Tara will lead the airline’s people and culture agenda, focusing on workforce strategy, leadership capability, employee engagement, industrial relations, and talent development to support Aer Lingus’ operational excellence and long-term growth across its international network.
With deep HR leadership experience spanning aviation, manufacturing, forestry, consulting, and financial services, Tara brings a strong track record in building high-performing organizations, strengthening employee experience, and aligning people strategy with business transformation.
In her new leadership role at Aer Lingus, Tara Flynn will steer the people strategy for Ireland’s national airline, ensuring the workforce agenda supports operational delivery, customer excellence, and the airline’s evolving needs across Europe and North America.
Before joining Aer Lingus, Tara spent close to four years at Glen Dimplex as Group Chief People & IT Officer, where she led enterprise-wide people strategy alongside technology leadership, supporting transformation, capability building, and organizational modernization.
Prior to that, she served for nearly five years at Coillte as Group HR Director, driving HR strategy, talent initiatives, and organizational effectiveness in Ireland’s commercial forestry and land solutions organization.
Earlier, Tara built strong expertise in rewards and benefits as Director – Employee Benefits & Investments at WTW (Willis Risk Services Ireland Limited), where she advised on employee benefits strategy and investment-related solutions in a client-facing leadership capacity.
Alongside these corporate leadership roles, she contributed significantly to the HR advisory ecosystem through long tenures with FirstCall HR (as Associate) and Attain Consulting (as Director), supporting organizations on HR transformation, people programs, and strategic workforce priorities.
Earlier in her career, Tara worked at Mercer as Head of Member Experience, focusing on experience strategy and service excellence, and also served as Human Resources Director at Scottish Provident for several years, building leadership depth across HR operations and employee relations.
She began her HR journey with Ulster Bank Markets as HR Manager, and previously spent several years as Employee Relations Executive at IBEC, developing strong foundations in employee relations and workplace policy.
About Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus is Ireland’s national airline, founded in 1936, operating flights across the UK, Europe, and North America. With its gateway hub at Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus connects Europe and North America and benefits from US Pre-Clearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airports. The airline is recognized as Ireland’s only 4-star airline by Skytrax World Airline Awards for quality and excellence, and it is part of International Airlines Group (IAG), one of the world’s largest airline groups.
Read Also : When HR “Produces Nothing”: A Response to Jennifer Sey’s Anti-HR Vision
The Fine Balance: Navigating Work, Life, and Mental Wellbeing
Mind the Leadership Gap – From Learning to Real-World Impact
How the Adecco Group is empowering its employees for the future of work
