As many as 200 cabin crew who work on long-haul flights for Aer Lingus from its base in Manchester, England, are likely to be jobless by the end of March after the Irish flag carrier removed tickets from sale on Thursday.
The announcement comes just a few months after cabin crew had started strike action in a messy dispute over pay and conditions, although Aer Lingus insists that it only started to look at closing the Manchester base because of poor performance.
Aer Lingus stops selling tickets on long-haul flights from Manchester
Since 2021, Aer Lingus has operated non-stop long-haul flights from Manchester to New York, Orlando, and Barbados using two widebody Airbus A330 aircraft, but on Thursday, the airline announced that it would no longer sell tickets for travel on these flights after March 31, 2026.
The decision comes less than two months after Aer Lingus revealed that it was considering shuttering its long-haul base in Manchester because it was struggling to make the operation profitable.
In an internal memo, the airline’s chief executive warned that the operating margin on Manchester long-haul flights “significantly lagged” its long-haul flights out of Ireland.
The memo added that the disparity in financial performance between the Manchester base and its Irish operation made it difficult to justify any further investment, and whether there were better uses for the two aircraft.
After removing tickets from sale, Aer Lingus said in a statement that its Manchester base was “undergoing a period of uncertainty” and that suspending further sales would “minimise customer disruption in the event of a closure of the Manchester base.”
Threat to shutter base came a month after cabin crew went on strike
It may well have been a coincidence, but the review into the future of the airline’s Manchester base came just a month after cabin crew working these long-haul flights started strike action in protest at stalled wage talks.
In October 2025, cabin crew who worked under a contract specific to the Manchester long-haul operation rejected a 9% pay raise, saying the offer didn’t even come close to covering the shortfall in their living costs.
Crew members then started a wave of strike action which forced Aer Lingus to either cancel flights or reroute passengers via Dublin, where cabin crew on a seperate contract would operate long-haul flights to get them to their destination.
The Unite Union, which represents the Manchester-based cabin crew, slammed Aer Lingus over its treatment of its members, claiming the operation was performing well.
Unite had accused Aer Lingus of union-busting but had offered to suspend strike action in order to hold talks on keeping the Manchester base open. The union is yet to publicly respond to the latest development.
Why was Aer Lingus operating long-haul flights from Manchester in the first place?
In 2021, Aer Lingus had long-haul aircraft that weren’t being used and was on the hunt for opportunities to get them back in the air. The airline spotted an opening at Manchester Airport following the collapse of the leisure carrier Thomas Cook a couple of years before.
Aer Lingus set up a seperate UK business to operate long-haul leisure flights from Manchester, along with a seperate Air Operators Certificate (AOC) that is distinct from its Irish operation.
During the last few years, Aer Lingus has hired around 200 cabin crew under this British AOC to operate these long-haul flights, and, until only recently, it was believed that the operation was performing well.
Will affected passengers be able to claim compensation?
It’s unlikely that passengers who have booked tickets on flights that are set to depart after March 31, 2026, will be eligible to claim compensation under British or European passenger rights regulations because Aer Lingus has provided a sufficient notice period.
Generally speaking, airlines do not have to provide compensation if they provide at least two weeks’ notice of the cancellation. Aer Lingus said in a statement that it is proactively contacting affected customers and is providing them options.
This could range from a full refund to potentially offering rerouting via Dublin or on another airline from the UK.
