About 130 workers at Leeds Bradford Airport will strike over pay from Friday, October 16, 2026, to Sunday, October 18, the Unite union announced on October 5. The roles include air traffic control, customer experience, security and cleaning staff.
The union says the walkout could shut the airport. The airport says it expects to run “near-normal” operations, so what actually happens to flights is not yet known.
The strike dates and who is involved
Hourly paid staff will strike from 3am on Friday, October 16, to 6am on Sunday, October 18, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. Air traffic controllers walk out over the same weekend, but from 6am on Friday to 6am on Sunday.
Unite says the workers have just come to the end of a four-year pay deal. Talks have run since December 2025, and the union says the airport’s formal offer does not go far enough to address a lack of pay parity, with some departments falling behind equivalent roles at other airports.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the airport “is very profitable and can more than afford to come back to the table.” Regional officer Neil Whitaker said members “have no choice but to strike” and that management must return with a fair pay rise.
The union also points to the airport’s finances. Travel Gossip reported turnover of £61.5 million for the year to March 31, 2025, up from £54 million the year before, and Unite says the airport is on course to handle about 4.5 million passengers this year.
Shutdown or near-normal operations?
The two sides describe very different weekends. Unite says no flights can operate without air traffic control, nobody can depart or arrive without passport control, and nobody would be in the terminal to help passengers.
An airport spokesperson said it respects the right to lawful industrial action but is “disappointed” and does not think striking is the way to resolve the issues. The airport called its offer “fair and responsible” and “significantly above inflation,” and said that “at this stage we anticipate running near-normal operations.”
The airport has not said, in the statements reported so far, how it would keep air traffic control and security staffed. That gap is why the outcome is uncertain: a union that says the airport would stop and an airport that says it would not cannot both be right.
What is not yet known
No airline has been reported as changing its schedule, and the airport has not published its contingency plan. Both could change in the 11 days before the strike, and a settlement could still call it off.
What travelers with flights that weekend can do
At this stage nothing has been canceled, so a booked flight is still a scheduled flight. The practical step is to watch for messages from your airline, which decides what happens to its own departures.
The airport said it remains committed to talks with Unite and would welcome continued discussions aimed at a resolution. Unite says management must come back to the table with a better offer.
Until one of those happens, the dates stand. The strike is 11 days away at the time of writing on October 5, so there is still room for a deal, a change of plan or a clearer picture from the airlines that fly from Leeds Bradford.
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About the Author
Tim is the owner and lead editor of AeroCorner since 2019, overseeing aviation content covering aircraft, airlines, airports, and the broader aviation industry. Through years of researching, writing, editing, and publishing aviation-focused content, he has developed extensive practical knowledge of commercial aviation and air travel. Based in Asia and a frequent traveler himself, Tim also brings firsthand passenger experience to AeroCorner’s coverage. Outside of publishing, he has also explored aviation firsthand through hands-on flight training in New Zealand.