Qantas chaos: outsourced baggage handler says one in 10 bags not making flights

As many as one in 10 pieces of luggage on average are either getting lost or not being loaded onto Qantas domestic flights each day at Sydney airport, according to a baggage handler who works for the company that the carrier outsourced jobs to. Guardian Australia can separately reveal that Swissport – one of the main companies Qantas has outsourced to supply baggage handling services – has itself been forced to contract two separate labour hire firms to find workers for shifts that Qantas has contracted it to fill. Amid widespread staff shortages across ground handling and aviation businesses as the beleaguered sector struggles to cope with a return to pre-pandemic travel demand, attrition rates are soaring among new employees scarred by chaotic scenes and poor conditions – with Swissport now offering a $50 a day bonus to baggage handlers at Sydney airport simply for turning up to their shifts for the rest of the year. While global and local carriers have long relied on third-party contractors to fulfil ground handling services away from their hubs, Qantas and its budget carrier Jetstar’s dominance in Australia have meant the recent surge in lost luggage, and its emergence as the airline with the worst on-time performance and cancellation rates in May, have been significant contributors to the chaotic scenes at Australian airports this year. Qantas has suffered a shortage of baggage handlers since its 2020 decision to outsource about 1,700 jobs. That decision was found to be unlawful and in part motivated by anti-union sentiment, and the airline is now attempting to challenge that finding in the high court. One Swissport baggage handler in Sydney raised concerns that those loading and transporting bags to and from Qantas and Jetstar flights were overworked, poorly paid, and unable to handle the increase in baggage in recent months as domestic travel had soared.<br/>