Virgin Australia says former chief pilot Michael Fitzgerald was ‘unfit to fly’

Bullying claims made by Virgin Australia’s former chief pilot should be struck out, the airline has told the Federal Court.

Virgin Australia has filed its defence to claims by its former chief pilot he was bullied by CEO Jayne Hrdlicka. Picture: Sarah Marshall/NCA NewsWire

Virgin Australia claims its former chief pilot was dismissed because he was declared medically unfit to hold the position, with the airline denying he had been the target of bullying by chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka.

Michael Fitzgerald – Virgin’s former general manager of flight operations – alleged Ms Hrdlicka had “engaged in workplace bullying”. The airline had raised “false claims” of alleged misconduct that were withdrawn following his dismissal in March, he said.

But in documents lodged with the Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane, Virgin said no allegation of bullying had been made or details of any illness provided when he took personal leave in July 2021.

Almost four months later, his lawyers wrote to Virgin stating his leave was connected to Mr Fitzgerald being told Ms Hrdlicka had lost confidence in him, the documents allege.

In December, Virgin sought more information about Mr Fitzgerald’s fitness for work and indicated that if his incapacity was unlikely to be resolved in the short term it might be appropriate to terminate his employment.

Two weeks later, Virgin directed Mr Fitzgerald to undergo an independent medical examination consistent with his work contract but he failed to respond or attend the appointment.

A few days later, he filed a bullying complaint in the Fair Work Commission which the defence said was the “first time he had raised any concerns” of that nature. After another direction to submit to an examination, Mr Fitzgerald attended an appointment in January with Ki Douglas.

Mr Douglas’ report – according to Virgin’s court filings – said Mr Fitzgerald was suffering a major depressive disorder, and he should remain off work until an independent review by a psychiatrist deemed him fit to do the job.

A second examination with Scott Chambers in February, delivered an even more damning assessment, finding Mr Fitzgerald was unlikely to improve in the next six-months and it was unlikely he would be able to return to his position in the future.

On the morning of March 1 when Mr Fitzgerald’s complaint was due to be heard in the Fair Work Commission, he was informed in writing of his termination from Virgin.

The defence said the letter reflected the reason for his termination, as his “ongoing unfitness for work as a result of his medical condition”. “(Virgin) denies that its decision to terminate (Mr Fitzgerald’s) employment was in any part because of a prohibited or unlawful reason,” the document said.

Mr Fitzgerald is seeking reinstatement as part of his case against Virgin. However, the role was recently filled by former Qantas head of fleet operations Alex Scamps.

The matter will have its first hearing in the Federal Circuit Court on June 13.

Virgin’s defence filings say that – given Mr Fitzgerald’s application was “vague and not properly pleaded” – the case was liable to be struck out.

The airline has undergone significant transformation since its sale to US private equity firm Bain Capital in late 2020, which saw Ms Hrdlicka installed as CEO.

Under Ms Hrdlicka’s leadership, $300m in costs have been stripped out of the company and pilots and cabin crew moved onto new enterprise agreements in keeping with the lower cost base.