Wednesday May 6th 2026
Edinburgh Airport
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Scottish airport workers, including staff at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, are to ballot for strike action this summer, causing potential travel disruption during the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Unite the Union has confirmed that 900 workers are heading towards strike action following pay disputes with companies based at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports.
Several industrial action ballots open this week including workers employed by Edinburgh Airport Limited and Menzies Aviation at the capital’s airport, which involves around 500 Unite members.
Following this, Edinburgh Airport have proposed a deal that they explained as ‘well above what has been offered to many other workers in Scotland and is well above inflation’.
Despite this, 280 ground service crew employed by Menzies Aviation at both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports have rejected pay offers that they label as ‘unacceptable’. These workers include vital roles for the airports, such as dispatchers, allocators, airside agents, and controllers.
Around 370 Edinburgh Airport workers being balloted include airport ambassadors, airside support officers, engineers, and managers, causing more strain in summer at a time where summer travel is already being threatened due to aviation price issues caused by conflict in the Middle East.
The workers provide essential support for a host of major airlines including American, United, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Emirates Lufthansa, Loganair, and AIR Transat.
The Union have announced that if the disputes are not resolved the ‘strike action is set to occur at the peak of the summer holiday rush’, coinciding with the World cup and Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Hundreds of workers across Scotland’s largest airports are heading towards summer strike action.
“The companies involved are all highly profitable. They can easily afford to give our members fair and reasonable pay offers but have decided to put boosting profits before people.”
The Union highlighted that Edinburgh Airport Limited made £144.4m in profit in its latest recorded accounts for year ending 2024, which is up from £88.2m from 2023. They also highlighted that Menzies Aviation recently announced record 2025 results of $3 billion in global revenue.
A spokesperson from Edinburgh Airport explained that pay for workers has outpaced inflation, increasing by 24.6% since 2023.
Explaining that ‘strike ballots from Unite and the accompanying publicity only adds to uncertainty’, the spokesperson said:
“The above-inflation offer comes as the airport has seen an unplanned 142% increase in business rates, meaning an additional £8 million of costs to cover. We are a successful business but constant cost increases, be that imposed by the Scottish Government or through yearly above-inflation wage demands are simply not tenable.
“Edinburgh Airport has always worked with unions to ensure fairness and equity and has a proven track record of collaboration and consensus. We remain open to negotiating in good faith with our unions, ballot or not.”
Carrie Donoghue, Unite industrial officer, explained:
“Any strike action would ground planes and passengers during an expectedly busy period with the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.”
“The blame for this situation arising will lie entirely with these extremely wealthy companies. They can end these disputes immediately, and in doing so they can give the travelling public peace of mind.”
Last week, Unite announced that ICTS workers are being ballot over industrial action at Glasgow with a further 140 Menzies Aviation workers now balloted at the same airport.
Updated 06/05/2026 16:00
A spokesperson from Menzies Aviation said:
“We are aware of potential industrial action at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports relating to a pay dispute. Discussions are ongoing and we are proactively working towards an outcome that is fair and workable for all parties, while recognising the challenging operating environment caused by the Middle East conflict.
“Pay at both locations has consistently increased above inflation since the Covid pandemic, and our current proposal again exceeds inflation and aligns with agreements the union has reached with other ground handlers at Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“Should industrial action take place, we have robust and proven contingency plans to minimise any potential disruption to our airline customers and their passengers, ensuring flights can operate as scheduled.”
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