More than 300 jobs are to go Glasgow Airport after baggage handling company Swissport announced widespread cuts.
Swissport is the country’s largest ground handler which looks after baggage and ticketing at regional airports, including Glasgow Airport, and has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
It announced yesterday it was axing 4,000 jobs – just under half of its 8,500-strong UK workforce.
The GMB union confirmed 321 jobs are under threat at Glasgow Airport.
GMB Scotland organiser Robert Deavy said: “We warned in March about the need for an intervention across our stricken aviation sector but the political response has been lacklustre at best. Consistent warnings about the crisis and the knock-on effect on airport jobs have been ignored by both UK and Scottish Governments.
“We need decisive action and we need it now because the failure to grasp the scale of the challenge facing aviation will be disastrous, particularly in areas such as Renfrewshire where airport and supply chain jobs are the backbone of the local economy.”
Pat McIlvogue, Unite regional industrial officer, added: “We are now witnessing the domino effect cascading throughout the civil aviation industry from cabin crew to airport workers through to baggage handlers and security staff.
“It’s an imperative that the Scottish and UK Governments bring forward a tailored supportive package for the industry because if we don’t then thousands of jobs will be lost and when we come out of lockdown there will be no workers in any major Scottish airports left to support the industry getting back off the ground.”
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A spokesperson for AGS Airports, owner of Glasgow Airport, added: “This is a devastating blow for all those affected and it highlights the very real challenges facing the aviation sector as a whole.
“It’s for this reason we’re calling on the UK Government to provide specific support for our sector beyond October and the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.”
Announcing the job cuts, Jason Holt, CEO of Swissport UK&I said when aircraft aren’t flying, the business doesn’t make any money.
He added: “As of May, revenue has dropped by around 75 per cent across our business.
“We are grateful for the help of Government support schemes, which have allowed us to take the time to properly consider our position and do everything possible to work for solutions that will protect jobs.
“But we now must adapt to the unfortunate reality that there simply aren’t enough aircraft flying for our business to continue running as it did before Covid-19; and there won’t be for some time to come.
“It is with regret that we are taking steps to reduce the size of Swissport’s workforce. I want to stress that this isn’t in any way a reflection on the dedication of our teams and the quality of their work.“
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The Swissport jobs blow comes at the same time as 20 NCP car park staff working at Glasgow Airport are fearing for their jobs.
NCP, which runs the long-stay and visitor car parks at the Paisley airport, is set to cull half its 40-strong workforce as early as next month.
The business, which manages car parking at a host of airports across the UK, said it would not confirm the proposed redundancies, telling the Express it will “not comment on confidential business matters”.
But one employee, who did not want to be named, said: “It is the bus drivers who are most worried for their jobs.
“They have told us they are cutting the cluster managers from two to one, bus drivers from 10 to zero, the cleaner from one to zero and the customer service assistants from 23 to 15.”
The worker also said a lack of dialogue between NCP and staff was frustrating workers, many of who have agreed to reduced hours and reviewed working patterns until passenger numbers increase at the airport.
