Next week, Qantas will see another 20,000 airline seats removed from its schedules as more planes are grounded due to ongoing industrial action by licensed engineers.
According to the Courier-Mail, seven Qantas aircraft will be rendered inoperative starting Monday, resulting in nearly 500 flight cancellations over the coming month.
Brisbane travellers will particularly face the brunt of this situation, with 240 of those cancellations affecting them, including the already cut seven services.
In light of these disruptions, Virgin Australia has proactively added extra flights and will keep “monitoring the situation and increase capacity if necessary,” as stated by a spokeswoman.
“We have observed a strong uptake in seat bookings, and our strategy to enhance our corporate sector share is gaining traction,” said communications manager Emma Copeman.
“We’re focused on providing additional flights while ensuring competitive pricing.”
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has attributed the flight cancellations to the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association, which has been implementing overtime bans and slowdowns since July.
He mentioned that the ALAEA has notified Qantas in writing that these bans will remain until Christmas.
“If the overtime ban persists, we will have to ground even more aircraft,” Mr. Joyce warned.
“This situation is affecting our passengers’ travel plans for holidays and business, as well as having repercussions for the tourism industry.”
A spokesman for Qantas declined to comment on whether the increasing cancellations would result in staff being put on leave or having their hours reduced.
He also noted that the airline has yet to determine the actual financial impact of the industrial action, which has disrupted approximately 60,000 passengers so far.
