Unite has expressed its disappointment over job losses at Edinburgh Airport.

The union has been in discussion with the airport about redundancies since the collapse of Thomas Cook late last year.

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus and the collapse of air travel globally, the airport intimated that it wished to consult on redundancies.

By using the government job retention scheme, Unite has been able to defer any action until later in the year.

However, some 250 jobs are now expected to go.

Part of the mitigation has also meant a temporary reduction in pay and hours for remaining staff which the union intends to pursue for reinstatement as the sector improves.

Unite regional officer Sandy Smart said: “The entire civil aviation sector has been impacted by the pandemic and we are genuinely worried about the sector in Scotland once the government support through job retention scheme is reduced.

“We have been calling on Westminster and Holyrood parliaments to put an aid package together to help Scotland’s airports and we will continue to pursue this.”

Unite has launched a campaign to ‘Save Scotland’s Airports’ following a Fraser of Allander report, conducted on behalf of the union, which estimates that around 1,500 job could be lost in civil aviation.

Unite Scotland is calling on its members and the wider public to contact their local and regional list MSPs to support the campaign for government intervention to prevent the potential collapse of civil air transport infrastructure, save jobs and protect wages and terms and conditions.