Zumba and ‘therapeutic puppies’ at Qantas HQ amid Sydney Airport passenger chaos

While passengers were fuming in lengthy queues at Sydney Airport, Qantas management and admin staff were “de-stressing” with Zumba and therapy dogs it can be revealed.

On the day Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told passengers they were not “match fit” his head office staff were treated to live music and “dog therapy” with puppies to relieve stress.

In the days leading up to the start of delays and chaos for passengers, staff at the Qantas HQ in Mascot were enjoying a week-long festival of activities including Zumba, yoga and pilates classes.

Last Friday Mr Joyce said airport delays were partly because “our customers are not match fit” while Qantas managers and administrative staff at the head office “Campus” were being encouraged to “come and pat a therapeutic puppy to take the stress away”.

As queues snaked out of the airport the airline’s non operational staff were also encouraged to “get the gang together” and “listen to some GROOVY music” in the open courtyard behind the head office.

The Daily Telegraph has confirmed that Mr Joyce did not personally pat any puppies or take part in a Zumba class.

Qantas staff at the head office campus were treated to a week-long festival of activities including Zumba, pilates and dog therapy.

The week-long fiesta of activities to welcome staff back from working from home sparked outraged comments on the airline’s internal social network from employees dealing with frustrated passengers.

“The perspective of operational staff is that there is a total disconnect from those on ‘the campus’ to what is happening in reality,” wrote one employee.

Passengers were left fuming in long queues at Sydney Airport's domestic terminal on Monday. Picture: Julian Andrews

“This being exacerbated by seeing campus staff over the last week having meditation sessions, BBQs, live music, pilates activities and dog therapy sessions.”

One pilot agreed and said “in 27 years I’ve never seen it anywhere near this bad” and was relieved he could sit “behind a locked cockpit door” while ground staff and crew bore the brunt of customer frustration.

However a senior employee said: “It’s wrong to make it sound like we’re all patting puppies and doing yoga. It was a few activities to try and bring some atmosphere back to the office after two pretty hard years.”

A Qantas spokesman said the week of activities had been planned in advance.

Qantas HQ in Mascot, where the airline’s non-operational staff work. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“Are we trying to welcome the last of our people back to the office after two years of working remotely? Yes, and lots of other corporates are doing the same,” he said. “Do these activities have any bearing on airport queues a week later? No.

“Over the weekend, we put out a call to head office managers to help at our busiest airports and now have more than 100 of them working in bag rooms and check in areas,” he said.

“As an organisation, we’re pulling out all the stops to get people to their destination safely. Last weekend we carried over 350,000 people on 2,800 flights, so while it’s busy and there are some delays, we are absolutely delivering.”

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce claimed passengers were not “match fit”, contributing to the long queues over recent days. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

But aviation experts and unions said the airline should have spent more time planning for staffing shortages during the busy Easter break than worrying about charity BBQ sizzles for backroom managers.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association Federal Secretary Steve Purvinas said: “The people making these decisions, and blaming passengers for not being match fit, are divorced from reality.

“Our members are stressed and fatigued while having to make critical safety decisions. At the same time, those in head office ... are being offered Zumba classes, live bands and dog therapy sessions with puppies to pat to relieve their stress.”

Mr Purvinas said he had called for an urgent meeting to discuss critical staff shortages. “Last week, at the busiest period, departments were operating with as little as 20 per cent of their required staffing numbers.”

A Qantas spokesman said there are no staff shortages in engineering for maintenance activities nor are they being asked to handle baggage.