Qantas to close crew bases in Hobart, Mildura, Canberra
Qantas faces another PR nightmare, this time over plans to close regional crew bases, with an Albanese cabinet minister leading the charge.
Federal Labor MPs, led by a cabinet minister, are pressuring Qantas to abort the flagged closure of regional crew bases, with the carrier accused of treating regional customers with contempt.
Leaked documents show Qantas has been reviewing its cabin and flight crew bases, particularly Hobart, Canberra and Mildura, which it has concluded “are not expected to grow under our current network plans”.
The review has “identified” that by shutting these QantasLink bases and relocating staff to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, “we would be better placed to respond to disruptions and support our customers”.
However, many in the centres flagged for closure see it as another example of the national carrier sacrificing regional services and jobs for cost-savings.
Federal Labor MPs and senators for Tasmania, led by Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, on Tuesday wrote to Qantas government affairs manager Simone Papas characterising the move as a betrayal – and urging a rethink.
“Given the recently reported record ($1.6bn after tax) profit of Qantas and considerable taxpayer support during Covid-19, continuing to support loyal regional communities like Tasmania through base operations is expected,” they wrote.
“Everyday Tasmanians rely on these connections to visit family interstate and overseas, and to travel for work. What guarantees can Qantas provide that any proposed changes will not impact on scheduled services?”
The letter pointed out Tasmanian visitor numbers were strong and rising, while millions of taxpayer dollars had been spent upgrading Hobart Airport.
Closing the three regional QantasLink bases would dislocate about 80 Qantas pilots and cabin crew, who would have to relocate or commute to Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane to keep their jobs.
The Transport Workers Union said some of the staff had already been relocated to Hobart or Canberra due to the earlier closure of other bases. It said the plans showed Qantas had not improved its attitude to workers since last month being fined $90m by the Federal Court for illegally outsourcing 1800 ground workers.
“We’ve got pilots and crew who have uprooted their lives after the last Qantas base closures, once again facing relocation across the country with their families,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said. “Meanwhile, regional Australia is facing job losses and declining passenger standards. Qantas has tried to convince us time and again that it has changed its ways. But this proposal shows there is still serious work to be done to change a deeply embedded culture of indifference towards workers’ and passengers’ lives.
“Regional Australia is still reeling from the administration of Rex and collapse of Bonza. We cannot continue to see this cycle, which creates a total lack of certainty for businesses, workers and the community in our regions.”
Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Tasmanian state independent MP David O’Byrne are also flighting the changes.
“The move could potentially impact the reliability of flights to and from Hobart, given there will be no locally based staff to step in when a member a flight crew becomes unfit for work,” Mr O’Byrne said.
Ms Papas declined to comment. QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan suggested no final decisions had been made but argued the change would benefit customers.
“Having more team members based at our busiest ports would help us respond more quickly to disruptions and reduce delays and cancellations for our customers,” Ms Yangoyan said.
“If a decision is made to close our Hobart base, there’ll be ongoing work for all of our pilots and cabin crew, and we’re committed to supporting our people through this process.”
Qantas said there would be no impact on flights to and from Hobart.
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