Australia’s Qantas airlines asks top executives to become baggage handlers amid labour crisis

Australia’s national carrier Qantas Airways Limited has sought the support of its executives and managers at the baggage haul amid an ongoing labour crisis.

The airline, which has been facing staff shortage, circulated a memo calling “at least 100 managers and executives” to help the ground staff in Sydney and Melbourne.

“You will be fully trained to safely carry out the functions you are supporting,” wrote chief operating office Colin Hughes in the note, reported 7News.com.au. “During your time in the contingency programme, you’ll be an embedded resource with the ground handling partners.

“This means you’ll receive a roster, be scheduled to operate and be supervised and managed in the live operation by our ground handling partners,” the memo reportedly read.

The task of the personnel would include sorting and scanning baggage, loading and unloading them from the plane, as well as driving the vehicle carrying the luggage between planes and terminals.

The applicants undertaking the role are reportedly invited to take on three or five days of work each week and a shift of four or six hours.

The ongoing tight labour market, along with “the high levels of winter flu and a Covid spike across the country” has made resourcing challenges across the industry, wrote Mr Hughes in the memo. “There is no expectation that you will opt into this role on top of your full-time position,” he said, according to the BBC

An airline spokesperson told 7News.com.au that the memo is nothing out of routine and have done “in the past during busy period”.

“We’ve been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers’ expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves – and that we’ve been pulling out all stops to improve our performance,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

“As we have done in the past during busy periods, around 200 head office staff have helped at airports during peak travel periods since Easter.”

Qantas was among the airlines that was hardest hit by the pandemic, leading to the grounding of planes. The national airline cancelled about 8.1 per cent of its scheduled domestic service in June, reported Bloomberg.