Irish airline Aer Lingus has announced that it will cease long-haul operations at Manchester Airport from 31 March. The closure of its Manchester base will affect 200 Aer Lingus staff, while customers who were due to fly from Manchester to New York, have had their flights cancelled.
Disappointing News
The affected routes from Manchester, to New York, Orlando and Barbados were operated by Aer Lingus UK, a wholly owned subsidiary set up to operate the Manchester long-haul services.
A spokesman for the airline said:
A decision has been taken to cease Aer Lingus’ Manchester transatlantic operations as of and from 31st of March 2026. Manchester-New York operations will cease from 23rd of February 2026.
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 re-accommodate affected customers.
We understand that this is disappointing news and apologise for the disruption to our customers.
All impacted customers are being informed of the cancellation of flights directly and provided with reaccommodation and refund options.”
Redeployment of Staff
The Unite Union has warned that 200 jobs could be at risk, but added that they hope staff from the base would be redeployed to Ireland.
Commenting on the closure of the Manchester base, Unite regional officer John O’Neill said:
Our focus at the moment is supporting our members at the airline through the consultation process and this difficult time.
Unite is currently in the process of negotiating enhanced redundancy terms and redeployment of staff over to Ireland and we are committed to securing the best possible outcome for our hardworking, dedicated members at Aer Lingus.
All other Aer Lingus services, including Aer Lingus Regional flights between Manchester and Ireland, will not be impacted by the closure.
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