Negotiator Richard Hardy said unions – including Prospect, GMB, BALPA and Unite – were told at a briefing with BA that only the BMI operation at Heathrow was seen as having a future, with all other staff at risk of redundancy.

Prospect represents more than 200 airworthiness engineers based at regional airports including East Midlands, Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Heathrow. They are members of the union's Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers branch.

Hardy added: "Over 400 jobs will be lost in the East Midlands alone, over 100 of them high quality engineering jobs. This is yet another body blow to local economies. Not only will it cause personal hardship and uncertainty for the individuals affected, it will also have a devastating knock-on impact on local businesses, shops and communities. There will be similar, though smaller, impacts in Birmingham, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh."

Consultation on redundancies began today and Prospect will be pressing BA, the new owner, to protect as many jobs as possible across the former BMI operation.