QANTAS ASKS EXECS AND SENIOR STAFF TO VOLUNTEER AS BAGGAGE HANDLERS

Australia’s biggest airline has asked senior office staff and executives to volunteer their services to handle baggage at airports.

The volunteer program will run for three months starting in the middle of August and has been aimed at more than 100 managers and executives.

The airline’s COO, Colin Hughes, stipulated the requirements in a memo shared with staff. These requirements include that volunteers need to be capable of moving and lifting bags weighing up to 32 kilograms.

They will be required to load and unload bags from aircraft as well as sort and scan bags.

There is a massive demand for travel since the pandemic restrictions have been lifted across most of the globe. The entire aviation industry is struggling to cope with the demand.

Business Insider reports that among Qantas’ recent issues are lost bags and a 13-month old baby who was booked onto a separate flight from her parents.

“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.”

Image credit: Aviation Business Middle East