Temporary job change: Qantas is looking for 100 bag-loading executives for three months

Two pilots disembarked. In Manchester in May, a member of Tui’s cockpit crew helped load suitcases and bags on board so her flight to Crete could take off on time. An Edelweiss pilot did the same in Edinburgh in June, to ensure he was able to fly to Zurich on time.

Mountains of baggage have piled up at European airports in recent weeks because baggage can no longer be loaded on time. The reason for this is the shortage of workers in the ground services companies. On the one hand, they have cut many jobs during the pandemic, and on the other hand, they have high levels of sick leave.

Volunteers are trained for temporary jobs

Qantas wants to prevent such problems in the coming spring season, when more people will travel again. The airline is seeking at least 100 CEOs to help temporarily load baggage. It is not about individual tasks. Volunteers must permanently work on the apron for three months.

The Australian Associated Press quoted a letter from Colin Hughes, responsible for operations on the Qantas board, that applicants “will be trained and deployed at Sydney and Melbourne airports”. They will support ground handling partners from mid-August to mid-November and will be permanently listed.

There is no double burden

Hughes stresses that Qantas does not expect that managers will not have to accept a double burden in the three months. According to the board of directors, they will not have to take the temporary job in addition to their regular full-time job. In recent weeks, the airline has repeatedly asked staff to help with baggage.

Because even at Qantas, there have been an extraordinary number of delays and cancellations. “We recognize that our operational performance has not met the expectations of our customers or the standards we expect of ourselves,” a spokeswoman for the airline told the Australian Associated Press.