Qantas asks 100 executives and managers to volunteer as full-time baggage handlers for 3 months to help ease airport chaos

Qantas is struggling to deal with a rebound in travel demand as pandemic curbs ease. Hu Jingchen/Xinhua/Getty Images

• Australia's Qantas Airways has asked senior office staff to handle baggage at airports for three months.
• Volunteers need to be capable of moving and lifting bags weighing up to 32 kilograms, Qantas said.
• The entire aviation industry is struggling to cope with a strong rebound in travel demand.

Australia's Qantas Airways has asked its senior office staff to step in as full-time baggage handlers at airports for three months.

The flag carrier is calling for at least 100 managers and executives to volunteer in the program starting in mid-August, the airline's COO, Colin Hughes, told staff in a memo shared with Insider. The role will see them loading and unloading bags from aircraft, as well as sorting and scanning bags. Volunteers need to be "physically capable of moving and lifting bags of up to 32kg in weight," according to the note.

The development comes as Qantas — alongside the entire aviation industry — struggles to cope with a strong rebound in travel demand amid easing pandemic restrictions. Issues faced by airlines include staff shortages, absences due to the pandemic, and bad weather. Among Qantas' recent issues are lost bags and and a 13-month-old baby who was booked onto a separate flight from her parents.

"We've been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers' expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves – and that we've been pulling out all stops to improve our performance," a Qantas spokesperson told Insider.

It's not the first time Qantas has asked deskbound office staff to volunteer for ground-handling duties. Around 200 Qantas office staff members have been helping out at airports since Easter, the carrier told Insider.

"While we manage the impacts of a record flu season and ongoing COVID cases coupled with the tightest labor market in decades, we're continuing that contingency planning across our airport operations for the next three months," said the Qantas spokesperson.