There were a number of safety incidents reported by managers working for Australian flag carrier airline Qantas.
The excerpts from the memos were published by the Transport Workers Union. The safety reports came from between January and July this year.
There has been an increase of incidents where firearms have been mistakenly off loaded onto the arrival's carousel rather than delivered to Baggage Services.
The memo said that the items were left unattended on the arrival's carousel, which allowed anyone to pick them up and walk away.
The procedures for handling firearms were updated in July.
According to a memo shared by the union, workers failed to close the cargo door of a plane after they finished loading.
Workers surveys were used to obtain the documents. It said it gave the documents to safety regulators and called for an investigation into the airline's supply chain.
Qantas replaced 1,700 in-house ground handling staff with workers from outsourcing firms in 2020. Qantas says the decision was a cost-cutting measure that would save the company $100 million a year.
In June, the airline lodged an appeal to the Australian High Court after a Federal Court judge ruled the dismissals were illegal.
Qantas let go around 9000 of its 30,000 workers during the Pandemic and like airlines around the world has been beset by operational challenges leading to mass cancellation and flight delays. In August, CEO Alan Joyce apologized to customers, blaming staff shortages for the problems.
The union said that several of the memos highlight understaffing.
Swissport and Qantas did not reply immediately.
Qantas told the Guardian that specialist ground handlers have a lower rate of incidents compared to the rest of the team.
They said that they operate in one of the most closely regulated industries in Australia.
The company encourages employees to report safety issues, according to a Swissport spokesman.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
