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Manchester Airport cabin crew have started their strike this weekend, expected to impact air passengers travelling on multiple routes. Around 130 members of staff from Irish airline Aer Lingus have planned industrial action, claiming a pay discrepancy between them and their counterparts in Ireland. They were already planning to strike from October 30 to November 2; and between the 9th and 11th, and 16th to 18th, of November. Earlier this week, Aviation Business News announced staff will strike also for an additional day, on November 14. Travel service Inrix is today (November 1) urging passengers should check their flight before travelling to the airport. Inrix warned that there could be possible disruption to and from Manchester Airport. Join our Traffic and Travel WhatsApp group HERE The staff, who are members of the Unite Union, have said that while the figures look high on paper, they receive low salaries from Aer Lingus. According to reports from Unite, the starting salary at the company is at £17,640.25, well below minimum wage. There is also a discrepancy between pay in the UK and Ireland. The starting basic salary for cabin crew in Ireland is €29,833.26, meaning the difference once converted into pounds is £8,249. Unite says that staff are reportedly struggling to pay rent and having to take second jobs to afford essentials to live and work in Manchester, which has a similar cost of living to Dublin. Unite bosses have highlighted Aer Lingus' lucrative 2024 that has seen it record an operating profit of €205m and has projected profits of around £35 million from just two aircraft operating three routes at Manchester Airport - Barbados, New York JFK and Orlando, the routes the cabin crew involved in the dispute work on. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "It is outrageous that cabin crew working for such a profitable airline are struggling on such low wages and cannot afford the basics. "Any strike action will be hugely disruptive to these routes, but the additional action is entirely the fault of Aer Lingus who have consistently put profits over people during this dispute. Unite will back our members at the airline every step of the way." Unite regional officer John O'Neill said: "All our members are seeking from Aer Lingus is a recognition of the hard work they do and being able to have a standard of living that doesn't require struggling to get by or taking on multiple jobs to afford essentials. “Each time management chooses to spend money fighting its own employees rather than resolving the issue, they push the cost higher and delay the inevitable outcome – a fair deal for Aer Lingus UK cabin crew. "Aer Lingus can avoid this further action by investing some of its profits back into its hardworking staff and coming back to the negotiating table. Unite is urging them to do this to avoid major disruption to flights in the coming weeks." An Aer Lingus spokesperson said: “The Unite trade union, representing Cabin Crew on Aer Lingus UK transatlantic routes, served notice of three additional blocks of industrial action: (1) over the period 9th November to the end of the day on 11th November; (2) throughout the day on 14th November; and (3) over the period 16th November to the end of the day on 18th November. "It is regrettable that Unite has decided on a significant further escalation of this type, which will be very disruptive to Aer Lingus customers flying between Manchester and each of New York, Orlando and Barbados. "Aer Lingus will continue to focus on planning for this increased disruption and communicating directly with impacted customers with a view to re-accommodating them where possible and minimising the disruption caused to them. "Aer Lingus negotiated in good faith with the Unite trade union having regard to benchmarked market pay in the UK. "Aer Lingus and Unite reached agreement on two separate comprehensive and market competitive pay deals which Unite then recommended to its members, the latter being based on a recommendation following a detailed conciliation process at ACAS.”
