Qantas executives haul luggage full-time to fight labour crunch

QANTAS Airways needs executives from head office to leave their jobs for 3 months and haul luggage full-time to address a stubborn labour shortage that's disrupting flights.

The airline is looking for at least 100 volunteers to carry out shift work at Sydney and Melbourne airports, chief operating officer Colin Hughes wrote in a note to managers that was shared by Qantas on Monday (Aug 8). Tasks include loading and unloading luggage, as well as driving the vehicles that take bags to planes and between terminals.

Applicants must be able to move suitcases weighing as much as 32 kilogrammes, according to the memo.

While Qantas headquarters staff have been helping at airports during holiday rushes, the need to put executives on the job for months underscores the depth of the labour shortage during the global travel rebound. Australia's national airline cancelled 8.1 per cent of scheduled domestic services in June, making it the country's least reliable carrier.

"To be clear, there is no expectation that you will opt into this role on top of your full-time position,' Hughes told managers. "It's our singular company focus to support our teams to get our operation back to where it should be."

The Australian newspaper reported the 3-month programme earlier.

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The world's depleted aviation industry is struggling to cope with a faster-than-expected surge in traffic, while airlines are also being hit with Covid-related staff absences. BLOOMBERG