Aer Lingus closure of  Manchester base

Aer Lingus have confirmed they have taken the decision to cease operations at Manchester Airport

Manchester–New York operations will cease from 23rd February 2026 and Aer Lingus plans to operate a service from Dublin to Barbados (subject to receipt of necessary approvals) during the months of April and May to reaccommodate affected customers.

In October last year,  Aer Lingus cabin crew based as Manchester, rejected a pay rise of nine per cent and a further three per cent next year. This was due to the discrepancy of pay between the Dublin based crew and the crew at Manchester. "The starting basic salary for cabin crew in Ireland is €29,833.26, meaning the difference once converted into pounds is £8,249" said Unite. 

Due to this. over 130 workers held strike action, from 30 October to 2nd November & further dates went ahead between 9-18th November. During this time Aer Lingus used charter airlines & aircrafts to keep passengers flying to there destinations with minimal disruption, long-haul operations out of Manchester consist of services to Barbados, New York and Orlando, with flights served by two based Airbus A330-300.

On Monday 24th November, Unite the Union published that they have responded to Aer Lingus with anger over proposals to close the base as the airline has issued redundancy notices to employees, which has put over 200 workers at risk, Unite has formally requested all the required information under Section 188 of the Employment Rights Act, along with the additional evidence needed for meaningful consultation – this includes the full business rationale, Manchester-specific financials, modelling behind the claim that aircraft could earn more elsewhere, timelines and role breakdowns.