Airport owners always justify expansion by claiming that more jobs will be created. But airports are renowned for exaggerating. In 1991 Manchester Airport promised that a second runway would create 50,000 jobs; when the dust had settled this had fallen to just 6,400, many of which were low skilled and part-time.
A recent study by the Aviation Environment Federation found that the growth in air travel is likely to lead to a net loss of 860,000 jobs, as airports and airlines cut back on staffing and people fly more (spending money abroad instead of on UK tourism). Every region in the UK, except London, has a tourism deficit, and further expansion drains local economies as money that would otherwise have been spent at home is spent abroad.
'Low-cost' operators, like Ryanair and easyJet - the model the industry is moving towards - have far fewer staff for every thousand passengers than the flagship carriers like British Airways. Passengers are already encouraged to check in online instead of at the terminal to cut down on the number of staff; new airport capacity will further entrench this low-staffing model by automating baggage handling and check-in.
Recent cutbacks at Stansted and by British Airways show that the aviation industry is more than willing to sideline its workers to protect corporate profits. Aviation jobs are mostly low-paid, low-skilled and unstable; we need long-term, sustainable employment, not more McJobs in the aviation industry.
