Qantas issues statement on engineering industrial action

MELBOURNE – Qantas said it had put in place measures to minimise the impact on customers during the Australian Licensed Engineers Association's (ALAEA) four-hour stop work meeting on Friday.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said while Qantas did not expect any significant issues as a result of the proposed overtime bans commencing tomorrow, there would be delays as a result of Friday's action between 2pm and 6pm.

"To address this, we have cancelled a limited number of domestic services during that period. We have begun contacting affected customers and re-booking them on other services and everything will be done to get them to their destination as quickly as possible."

Dixon said the ALAEA was, as it always did when in dispute with the airline, raising questions about safety.

"Of course, it is no coincidence that when the union is on a crusade for more money it decides to play the 'safety card'," he said. "Safety is our top priority - we never have and never will compromise this."

Information on schedule changes will be available on qantas.com.