The airline is looking for 100 managers to temporarily help load baggage. Not part-time, but full-time and for three months.
Two pilots pitched in. In Manchester in May, a member of Tui’s cockpit crew helped load suitcases and bags onto the plane so its flight to Crete could take off on time. A pilot from Edelweiss did the same in Edinburgh in June, making sure that he was able to fly to Zurich on time.
Mountains of suitcases have been piling up at European airports in recent weeks because the luggage could no longer be loaded on time. The reason for this is lack of staff at the ground service companies. On the one hand, they 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 upcoming spring season, when more people are traveling again. The airline is seeking at least 100 executives to temporarily help load baggage. It’s not about individual assignments. The volunteers are to work permanently on the apron for three months.
Those who apply will be “trained and deployed at the airports in Sydney and Melbourne,” the Australian Associated Press news agency quoted from a letter from Colin Hughes, who is responsible for operations on the Qantas board. They would support the ground handling partners from mid-August to mid-November and would be permanently enlisted in the rosters.
No double burden
Hughes emphasizes that Qantas does not expect that managers will not have to accept a double burden in the three months. According to the board, they would not have to take on the temporary job in addition to their usual full-time position. In recent weeks, the airline has repeatedly asked employees to help with luggage.
Because even at Qantas, there were an unusually large number of delays and cancellations. “We are aware that our operational performance has not met the expectations of our customers or the standards we expect of ourselves,” an airline spokeswoman told the Australian Associated Press.