Qantas is asking office staff to work as baggage handlers as it struggles to cope with travel demand

• Qantas has asked office staff to help it meet peak travel demand by working in Australian airports.
• They may help customers find lost bags and distribute water, per a memo seen by Bloomberg.

Airline executives are having to get creative to find solutions to an industry labor shortage. For Qantas, that means looking within, by asking office workers to fill in as baggage handlers and on security at airports.

On Wednesday, Melbourne staff at Australia's biggest airline, as well as staff at its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, were asked to help the airline meet peak July travel demand, according to Bloomberg, which cites an email sent by Jetstar's airport operations.

According to the memo, which outlines the "Airports Peak Contingency Plans," staff may be asked to help find lost baggage, distribute water, and help speed travelers through security if they're running late, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg initially reported that the memo was sent to Qantas and Jetstar staff. However, a representative for Qantas told Insider the memo was only sent to Jetstar employees.

"Over Easter Qantas redeployed a number of managers to support airport and baggage operations, and will do so again across the Group in the July school holidays if required," the spokesperson said. A representative for Qantas told Bloomberg that 200 volunteers signed up at the time.

The airline is also hiring people for "hundreds" of operational roles the spokesperson added.

Airlines globally are struggling to find enough staff to meet soaring demand for travel. Workers have been slow to return after being laid off in their thousands when the COVID-19 pandemic grounded global travel. This left airlines short of pilots, flight attendants, and baggage handlers.

Those problems, coupled with wider economic turbulence in the form of surging fuel costs and route disruptions related to the Ukraine war, have led to thousands of flight cancellations and long delays at airports.

Air passenger numbers rose 76% in the year to March 2022, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association. Those numbers are only expected to increase as airlines enter summer and peak levels for international travel.

Qantas laid off thousands of staff during the pandemic

Qantas, like most airlines around the world, laid off thousands of staff as a result of the pandemic. The "Flying Kangaroo" as it's sometimes called, resumed international flights following a strict COVID-19 lockdown, in November 2021.

In May, a union representing Qantas pilots warned that the airline's post-COVID expansion plans could increase the pressure on pilots. The plans include the purchase of 40 A321XLR jets from Airbus, as well as operating what will be the world's longest non-stop passenger flight between Sydney and London, and flying non-stop to New York.

"Your decision-making is slower, your reaction times are slower, you're more likely to get a poor landing," Tony Lucas, president of Qantas chapter, of the Australian & International Pilots Association, told Bloomberg in relation to proposals aimed at meeting surging demand for air travel.

Are you an employee of Qantas or Jetstar? Contact this journalist in confidence via email, or message on Twitter at @spj1064