Thomas Cook collapse blamed for loss of 351 Manchester Airport jobs

More than 350 Manchester Airport jobs are at risk as a result of the collapse of the Thomas Cook holiday business.

Aviator, which undertook ground handling operations for Thomas Cook in Manchester, said its Manchester operation is preparing to go into administration and will cease trading on October 22, with the loss of 351 jobs.

Thomas Cook went into liquidation two weeks ago with loss of 9,000 jobs, including around 3,000 in Manchester. The holiday giant accounted for 70% of Aviator’s business in Manchester.

Aviator provided a range of services for Thomas Cook including passenger, baggage and cargo handling as well as security and plane de-icing.

An Aviator spokesperson said: “Today Aviator is announcing that it regrettably anticipates ceasing all operations at Manchester Airport.

“Aviator’s likely last day of service to customers in Manchester will be Tuesday, October 22.

“This is another unfortunate outcome stemming from Thomas Cook’s recent liquidation.

“Thomas Cook was our largest customer, accounted for approximately 70% of our service in Manchester and despite our efforts over the past two weeks we have concluded that we cannot operate as a viable business supporting only our remaining customers.

“This proposal has not been made lightly and follows our exploration of several other solutions to continue our operations in Manchester which we began in earnest upon learning of Thomas Cook’s liquidation.

“We will be consulting with employees’ representatives on this proposed plan and ways of mitigating redundancies and the consequences of ceasing operations.

“Assuming the Manchester operations head towards ceasing operations, our goal is to provide an orderly wind-down of operations over the next two weeks to enable our customers to seek alternative service providers and minimise passenger disruption.

“For our employees, we are working to explore the possibility of a transfer pursuant to TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) for as many as possible and have initiated dialogues with other ground services organisations and airlines at Manchester Airport.

“We have assured staff and their representatives today that for those who remain in our employ up to October 22, salaries corresponding to work completed as of that date will be paid.

“In partnership with Unite and the elected employee reps we will consider the present situation, we will look at ways of avoiding and minimising redundancies, and ensure that all staff who are at risk of redundancy have information about resources that are available to help them through this difficult time.

“We are not the only business to be affected negatively by the Thomas Cook situation. This is an unfortunate circumstance that we deeply regret.

“As we prepare for what is potentially our final two weeks in Manchester, we would like to recognise and thank our staff in Manchester who have provided outstanding service to our customers during their time with Aviator.”

The spokesperson said the impact of the Thomas Cook liquidation is restricted to its Manchester business and Aviator will continue providing its services in the Nordic regions.

Mike Gaskell, Unite the Union regional officer, said: “It’s very important from our point of view that the Thomas Cook slots at the airport are filled as quickly as possible.

“Because the work should come back and the people who have lost their jobs should be in prime position to fill those roles.”

Unite has also warned that the collapse of Thomas Cook is now resulting in serious job losses in the airline’s supply chain.

Unite said it also understands that ground handlers Swissport at Bristol and Menzies at Gatwick have announced potential redundancies.

Unite national officer for civil aviation, Oliver Richardson, said: “Thomas Cook’s airline collapse will have major implications for the supply chain. We have already seen Aviator announce they will cease trading and redundancies at other companies.

“The scale of additional job losses in the supply chain will significantly add to the numbers of losses in the airline itself.”