Qantas crews forced to sleep among passengers
Qantas has sparked a backlash from flight attendants and union officials over inadequate rest facilities on some long-haul flights.
Footage from employees shows flight attendants forced to construct makeshift beds between cabin passengers on the airline’s Brisbane to Los Angeles international flight.
Some are shown laying down on economy seats, covering themselves with blankets in an effort to obtain privacy from passengers and to get rest during extended shifts.
‘‘I was shocked, a lot of people were putting in reports questioning the safety,’’ a Qantas employee who chose to remain anonymous said. ‘‘I feel like they hate us, I feel that they don’t understand what the role of a flight attendant is.’’
Teri O’Toole, from the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, said the issue had created a tense situation between the union and Qantas over workers’ rights.
She added that while the union pushed for an extra day of rest for employees to compensate for a lack of sleeping facilities on A330 planes, Qantas had instead switched from Australian to New Zealand crews, leaving many Australians without work.
‘‘We have an aircraft which does not have the facilities for crew rest.
‘‘It has never been used for flights 14 hours and above,’’ O’Toole said.
‘‘We tried to make a deal with the company to give crew a day either side to rest and they said no.
‘‘They went out and said we will give this work to New Zealand who don’t have the same restrictions surrounding rest that our Australian-based crew do.’’
O’Toole said the conditions New Zealand staff were working in were ‘‘simply appalling’’ and employees were entitled to proper rest in a horizontal position. ‘‘The crew have tried to get some privacy by making a fort like little kids out of blankets to give themselves privacy, which is just a disgrace,’’ she said.
‘‘It is not appropriate rest in the workplace. ‘‘It is not appropriate rest for anyone.’’ Rachel Yangoyan, from Qantas, said it was the company’s preference to use Australian crew for the Brisbane to Los Angeles flight and worker fatigue was considered in the decision-making process.
‘‘We are really disappointed the union was not able to support this flying,’’ she said.
‘‘We look at the rest that they already get pre-, during and after the flight in LA, we assess that and ultimately that told us what we are providing is sufficient and adequately addressing the fatigue need.’’
Yangoyan said the need for adequate rest facilities and staff privacy was being addressed, and new wrap-around curtains would be provided for A330 staff within the next six weeks.
‘‘Once we get that curtain in place, we are confident this will be a really private area with a lie-flat bed where our crew can get adequate rest,’’ she said.
The Qantas flight attendant, who spoke to 9News anonymously, said staff on the ground in Australia, 55% of whom are still on reserve rosters, felt betrayed by the company.
‘‘We just spend all of our time waiting around hoping to get flying, it is kind of disheartening,’’ he said.
O’Toole said unstable work had put many in a precarious position, with several flight attendants reporting mental health issues and financial pressures due to the lack of work.
‘‘They get their base salaries and for some of them that is not enough to pay their rent,’’ she said.
‘‘We have crew that run towards the fire. ‘‘They are police, the ambos, the nurses, and they get paid just a fraction more, 16k a year more than a fast food worker.’’
This article was published by 9News and is republished with permission.