Corporate suits asked to handle bags

Hundreds of the aviation industry’s head office workers in Australia have found themselves checking in bags, directing queues and responding to other front-of-house customer service requirements as the sector continues to grapple with global staff shortages and unparalleled demand for travel.

Since April, corporate employees at Qantas, Virgin, Melbourne Airport and Sydney Airport have been enlisted on an adhoc basis as frontline volunteers during busy periods.

Last week, Qantas sent out a formal plea to managers and executives to opt into a ‘‘shortterm arrangement’’ over the next three months when they would elect to swap out some of their corporate duties for loading and unloading aircraft and driving a tug (the vehicle used for ferrying luggage around the airport).

In the note, Qantas said the high levels of winter flu, a Covid19 surge and the ongoing ‘‘tight labour market’’ were responsible for the ‘‘operational challenge’’ the airline faces.

The airline said it required at least 100 managers to take part in the programme, which would require at least 12 to 18 hours over three shifts a week from August to December, but would not require volunteers to participate in addition to fulltime responsibilities.

About 200 Qantas head office staff have participated in the programme since it began in Easter.

Qantas outsourced baggage ground handling in 2020, resulting in 1700 redundancies. The Federal Court found the move was in breach of the Fair Work Act, a verdict the airline is appealing in the High Court.

At the time, the airline said it could save A$100 million (NZ$111m) a year by shifting baggage handling, aircraft cleaning and ground support work to a third-party aviation service provider such at 11 airports.

As reported by The Age in April, Qantas and Virgin enlisted corporate staff at airports over the Anzac Day weekend after passenger hold-ups caught carriers flat-footed during Easter.

Rex Airlines and Virgin do not have plans to follow Qantas in introducing a formalised corporate scheme.

During the April school holidays peak, 120 people from Sydney Airport’s corporate ranks took to the floors of the airport to help with flight prioritisation, queue direction and provide water to customers in long lines.

In July, the airport outsourced 60 customer service professionals who reduced the need for corporate volunteers.

A spokesperson from Melbourne Airport said it was not uncommon for corporate staff to volunteer in customer service positions during busy periods, including school holidays.

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