Aer Lingus cabin crew announce further strikes amid pay dispute

(MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM) Aer Lingus cabin crew based at Manchester Airport will mount further strike action in November, escalating an industrial dispute that has already grounded long-haul services and left passengers facing rerouted journeys. Around 130 Unite union members will walk out on 9–11 November 2025, 14 November 2025, and 16–18 November 2025, adding to a previously announced stoppage from 30 October to 2 November 2025.

The airline’s transatlantic flights from Manchester to New York, Orlando, and Barbados are expected to be the most affected, with most or all services on those routes likely to be grounded during the strikes. The action involves crew assigned to Aer Lingus UK’s long-haul operation from Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 and follows a breakdown in talks over pay and working conditions. Unite has rejected the company’s latest pay offer, arguing that low base salaries, unequal allowances, and a growing reliance on second jobs have left Manchester-based cabin crew struggling even as the airline returned strong profits.

Unite says the dispute centres on starting pay and allowances for Manchester-based staff assigned to Aer Lingus’s long-haul routes. The union cites a base salary starting at £17,640.25 for Manchester-based crew, which it says undercuts the minimum wage and lags far behind the starting salary for Dublin-based crew, listed as €29,833.26 — about £8,249 more. Beyond basic pay, Unite points to overnight allowances that differ depending on where crew are based, even when they lay over in the same hotels. Irish-based crew, the union says, receive $171 per night on U.S. destinations, while UK-based crew receive $111 for Orlando and $115 for New York.

The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, accused the airline of prioritising profits over fair pay, and said some Manchester-based staff have been taking second jobs to cover essentials. “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,” said Sharon Graham.

Aer Lingus, part of International Airlines Group, said it had negotiated “in good faith” with Unite and reached “two separate comprehensive and market competitive pay deals” that were recommended by the union to its members. After the latest escalation was announced, the airline said its focus had turned to handling the impact on customers. “Aer Lingus will now focus on communicating directly with impacted customers with a view to reaccommodating them where possible and minimising the disruption caused to them,” a spokesperson said.

Passengers flying from Manchester Airport on Aer Lingus long-haul routes have already received schedule changes. One traveller said they were notified by text on October 16, 2025 that the impending strike would alter their itinerary from a direct New York–Manchester flight to a New York–Dublin–Manchester routing. With further walkouts called across multiple dates in November, the airline is expected to continue reaccommodating customers, including rebooking via Dublin when seats are available. The Unite union warned, however, that the planned actions are designed to shut down most transatlantic departures on the affected days, putting pressure on the airline’s UK long-haul operation while talks remain stalled.

Unite regional officer John O’Neill accused Aer Lingus of trying to blunt the strike’s impact rather than striking a fair deal with its UK-based crew. He said the company had engaged in what the union describes as “strike busting tactics,” including changing crew rosters, repositioning aircraft, and leasing crew from other operators to keep flights moving. “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,” said John O’Neill.

The dispute has exposed a sharp divide over how Aer Lingus values its long-haul operation at Manchester Airport compared with its home base in Dublin. Unite argues that pay and allowances have not kept pace with living costs for UK-based crew, and that the company’s own financial disclosures show it can afford to raise salaries. The airline reported an operating profit of €205 million last year and, according to the union, expects to make around £35 million in profit from just two aircraft operating the three long-haul routes out of Manchester. Unite says those figures underscore its members’ case that Aer Lingus can resolve the dispute by lifting base pay and harmonising allowances.

From the airline’s side, Aer Lingus points to a pair of pay packages it says were negotiated with Unite and recommended by the union to members, only to be rejected in ballots. The latest offer, according to the union, included a 9% rise this year and a further 3% next year. Unite has dismissed that as insufficient given the low starting base in Manchester and the gap with Dublin-based pay. The carrier has said it is disappointed by the industrial action and wants to minimise disruption, but has not publicly detailed further concessions beyond the referenced pay deals and its stated intent to work “in good faith.”

For travellers, the practical effect is clear: services on the high-demand Manchester–New York, Manchester–Orlando, and Manchester–Barbados routes will be the most vulnerable across the announced strike windows. Those with bookings on or around 30 October–2 November 2025, 9–11 November 2025, 14 November 2025, and 16–18 November 2025 are already seeing emails and texts with rebooking options, including routings via Dublin. Passengers whose flights are cancelled or rerouted can check official guidance on flight disruption rights via the UK Civil Aviation Authority, although specific remedies depend on the operating carrier and the terms of the ticket.

On the ground, Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 has become the focal point of the dispute, with Aer Lingus UK long-haul crew represented by Unite staging coordinated walkouts designed to ground the daily transatlantic schedule. The union says around 130 members are participating, a relatively small workforce whose absence is still enough to halt most or all flights on the three long-haul routes because of the safety-critical nature of cabin crew roles. The airline’s steps to mitigate the disruption — altering rosters, repositioning aircraft, and leasing in crew from other operators — have angered Unite, which argues that money spent on those measures could have gone toward a settlement.

Passengers travelling for business, family visits, or holidays to Florida and the Caribbean will bear the brunt of the cancellations, especially on peak days when spare seats on alternative routings are scarce. Families heading to Orlando face particular uncertainty, with long-planned trips potentially needing last-minute changes. Winter sun travellers bound for Barbados are also at risk of cancellations or extended itineraries through Dublin. For New York, some customers may be offered connections via Dublin that add time to their journey but keep them on an Aer Lingus-operated transatlantic segment, subject to seat availability and operational constraints on strike days.

Unite’s rhetoric has hardened with each new tranche of strike dates. The union is highlighting precise pay figures to underscore its case for a deal that lifts base pay for Manchester-based crew closer to Dublin levels and aligns overnight allowances. The comparison is central to the dispute: $171 per night for Irish-based crew when laying over in U.S. destinations versus $111 for Orlando and $115 for New York for UK-based crew, according to Unite, despite crew staying in the same hotels. On base salaries, the gap cited by the union — £17,640.25 in Manchester against €29,833.26 in Dublin — is presented as both a fairness issue and a practical one, as staff in Manchester, Unite says, struggle to meet basic costs and in some cases take on second jobs.

Aer Lingus maintains it has tabled reasonable offers. The airline’s assertion that talks were conducted “in good faith” and produced “two separate comprehensive and market competitive pay deals” — which it says Unite itself recommended — suggests management believes it has already gone further than many carriers in the current market. But rejection by the workforce and the escalating calendar of walkouts point to a negotiation at impasse. Both sides know the stakes: winter transatlantic services are commercially important; at the same time, coordinated strike action during these weeks can wield maximum leverage with minimal staffing numbers.

The scale of projected financial impact depends on how many flights the company can preserve through contingency plans and whether Unite’s strike schedule expands again if no agreement is reached. The union argues that “strike busting tactics” will simply extend the dispute and raise costs without addressing the underlying grievances. Aer Lingus, for its part, is balancing customer commitments, operational reliability, and the risk of setting pay precedents across its network. The longer the stoppages continue, the greater the operational knock-on effects at Manchester Airport and across the airline’s wider schedule, particularly if aircraft and crews are repositioned to protect certain services.

For now, the timetable is set. The initial four-day walkout spans 30 October to 2 November 2025. The subsequent actions run 9–11 November, 14 November, and 16–18 November 2025. Those periods cover busy travel days and multiple weekends, a pattern likely to maximise disruption on the three targeted long-haul routes. Travel agents and customer service teams are preparing for another wave of changes, with Aer Lingus pledging direct communication to “impacted customers” to “reaccommodate” them and “minimise the disruption.” At Manchester Airport, where Aer Lingus’s long-haul presence has become a competitive alternative to connections via London or Dublin, the interruptions will test customer loyalty and highlight the fragility of point-to-point long-haul operations sustained by small fleets.

Unite says the dispute remains unresolved as of October 28, 2025 and warns that further escalation is possible if negotiations do not progress. The union’s message is that Aer Lingus should redirect spending from contingencies and leased crews into a settlement that raises base pay and harmonises allowances. For their part, airline managers are signalling that their offers already match the market and that they intend to keep talking while doing what they can to protect customers. Whether that middle ground exists will become clear only if the parties return to the table before the next round of stoppages begins.

In the meantime, travellers booked on Aer Lingus services from Manchester Airport should monitor their itineraries closely, especially if they are bound for New York, Orlando, or Barbados on the named dates. The carrier’s long-haul operation from Terminal 2 has limited redundancy; even small changes in staffing can ground entire rotations. With the Unite union committing to “back our members at the airline every step of the way” and Aer Lingus vowing to contact “impacted customers” directly about options, the next three weeks will determine whether the winter schedule can be stabilised or whether more passengers will be routed through Dublin to keep trips alive. The stakes are high for crew and customers alike, and for Manchester’s position as a growing transatlantic gateway as the dispute plays out across successive November strike windows.