Menzies Aviation enhances its support of refugees through new partnership with UK for UNHCR  

12 February 2026, London – Menzies Aviation, the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, has signed a partnership with UK for UNHCR to further its support of the UN Refugee Agency through fundraising and refugee hiring.  

The global charity partnership is a first for Menzies Aviation, enabling the company to contribute to UNHCR’s global humanitarian programmes. 

Funds raised through corporate donations and employee fundraising initiatives will support UNHCR’s lifesaving work – from emergency response to long-term programmes that help displaced families access protection, education, healthcare and livelihoods. 

The partnership builds on a growing relationship between Menzies Aviation and UNHCR. Since 2024, the organisations have advanced refugee hiring initiatives in several regions. Through its collaboration with UNHCR and other NGOs, Menzies has successfully hired refugees across its global business.  

In 2025, Menzies collaborated with UNHCR’s local integration programme in Guadalajara, Mexico, hosting a joint recruitment event with local authorities and the British Embassy that led to more than 35 job offers across operations in Guadalajara. Since the start of 2025, Menzies has hired 47 refugees in Guadalajara alone. To support long‑term inclusion, Menzies also provides accommodation and reliable transport to remove barriers to employment. 

The partnership aims to expand the scale and scope of these hiring initiatives in 2026, supporting access to meaningful employment and economic participation for people forced to flee, and advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. 

Juliet Thomson, Chief People Officer, Menzies Aviation, said: “As a global business, we have both the responsibility and the capacity to act. We are proud to partner with UK for UNHCR as our first global charity partner. This partnership allows us to use our global reach, our people and our resources to support UNHCR’s vital work and make a real difference in people’s lives.” 

Emma Cherniavsky, CEO of UK for UNHCR, said: “We are hugely grateful to Menzies Aviation for their partnership. The combination of hiring initiatives with critically important flexible funding will maximise impact for refugees around the world. Flexible funding enables UNHCR to prepare for the unpredictable, responding quickly wherever the needs are greatest. Longer-term, hiring refugees not only transforms the lives of displaced people – it’s an investment in resilient workforces, stable communities and strong economies.” 

– Ends – 

For further information contact: 

Beki McVicker, PR Manager, Menzies Aviation       

Via Four Agency Worldwide Limited 

The Hickman Building, 2 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1FX 

E: [email protected] | Tel: +44 (0)20 3920 0555 

Media contacts: 

Mohaned Lafi (UAE): +971 55 985 3379 

Martin Greeland (UK): +44 7582 770 055 

Notes to editors: 

About Menzies Aviation  

Menzies Aviation is the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, with operations on six continents, at more than 350 airports in 65-plus countries, serving more than 4.8 million flights a year and handling over 2.4 million tonnes of cargo.  

Supported by a team of over 65,000 highly trained people, the company provides complex and time-critical ground services, including passenger, lounge and ramp services; air cargo services, including handling, warehousing and wholesale freight forwarding; and fuel services, including fuel farm management and into-plane fuelling.  

Menzies Aviation is recognised across the industry for delivering the safest, most secure and sustainable services tailored to customers’ needs and is essential to keeping passengers, aircraft and cargo moving, round the clock, every minute of every day.  

Menzies Aviation is headquartered in London, and since its founding in 1833, has become the largest aviation services group in the world by number of countries, airports and aircraft turns. 

http://www.menziesaviation.com   

About UK for UNHCR 

UK for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner for the UK. We build solidarity, create partnerships and raise funds across the UK to help deliver global humanitarian relief for refugees through UNHCR’s work. www.unrefugees.org.uk

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. It delivers lifesaving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. www.unhcr.org  

UK for UNHCR is a registered charity in England and Wales (registered charity number 1183415).