Ryanair poaches Aer Lingus passengers with $100 'rescue fare' after a massive technical failure canceled more than 50 flights to and from Ireland

• Aer Lingus experienced an IT outage on Saturday that forced the airline to cancel dozens of flights.
• Competitor Ryanair took advantage of the misstep and offered $100 "rescue fares" to affected customers.

When Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 51 flights Saturday due to a widespread system outage, budget airline Ryanair wasted no time in taking advantage of its competitor's misfortune.

The European budget carrier offered $100 "rescue fares" to hundreds of Aer Lingus passengers stranded at the Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports and posted photos on Twitter comparing the two airline's customer service lines.

Travelers shared photos on social media Saturday of lengthy queues wrapped around Terminal 2 at the Dublin airport, with one commenting that "few if any Aer Lingus staff have received manual check in training."

Aer Lingus said in a statement Saturday that the "unavailability of key systems for check-in, boarding, and our website" was caused by "a break in connectivity in services from a UK network provider," which has since been restored.

Customers whose flights were delayed or canceled due to the disruption can apply for a refund or change their travel plans free of charge, the airline added.

"Aer Lingus sincerely apologises to customers for the severe disruption," the company said.

Thousands of flights around the world have been delayed and canceled this summer as understaffed airlines struggle to handle record travel demand. The industry may not fully recover until 2024, a travel analyst told Insider.