Australian pilots have been complaining about large airline companies and the federal government, claiming they found a lack of financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement issued by the Senate inquiry into Australia’s response to the coronavirus epidemic, Australia and the International Pilots Association (AIPA) pointed the finger at the provincial government, saying funding was “insufficient” and “not equal to purpose”.
The Major Airlines
The union also criticized two major airlines for not providing much assistance to airline crews during a health crisis.
The aviation and tourism industries have been the worst hit, with both Qantas and Virgin Australia forced to suspend most of the aviation services in the first half of 2020.
AIPA’s Statement
“Australia is one of the few countries that has not provided personnel with aviation-related services,” AIPA said in a statement.
“This is compounded by the fact that both Qantas and Virgin offer nothing to the elite pilots who rely entirely on JobKeeper or who undermine their accumulated employment rights such as annual and long-term leave.”
The organization, which represents more than 2300 Qantas pilots, said some of the world’s largest airlines pay full or partial salaries to pilots while the industry is still in its infancy.
AIPA said most pilots may be forced to leave the industry without further financial assistance without JobKeeper getting a job in March.
The Layoffs
Qantas had previously announced it would lay off more than 8500 jobs from its employees, while the epidemic caused Virgin Australia to enter voluntary management and forced the company to lay off more than 3000 workers.
An estimated 220 of the 8,500 people who were demolished in Qantas were driving positions.
“Unfortunately, many of our pilots, house workers and other employees throughout the business are still on the ground because of the impact of COVID-19 and government restrictions,” a Qantas spokesman said.
“We provide support to affected employees in a variety of ways including assisting in obtaining second-term employment and access to financial advice.”
In a statement, AIPA said that the $ 750 million aviation aid package from the federal government was designed primarily for fuel, air services, and domestic and regional security cases – rather than humanitarian action measures.
“Ongoing international borders and closure of domestic borders are incomparable has had an impact on aviation compared to other industries, many of which have reopened and resumed trade, ”said AIPA.
“While we are welcome, the benefits of this package only apply while the flights are still in operation, which is very rare during ongoing domestic border closures, restrictions on non-essential travel and international border closures until at least 2021.”
What Will The Airlines Do?
At Qantas’ annual general meeting, chief executive Alan Joyce said the continued closure of domestic borders had led to less than 30 percent of airline prices, compared to pre-epidemic levels.
Flight revenue in the fourth quarter of the 2020 financial year fell by $ 4 billion due to domestic and international travel base.
“We are well aware of the impact this problem has had on 30,000 people across the group,” said Mr Joyce.
“Most have landed without a clear timeline for when the flight will resume. Thousands will lose their jobs completely. ”
All Qantas employees have received the JobKeeper wage subsidy since it came into effect in March.
Virgin Australia said AIPA does not represent any of its pilot staff and is not in a position to comment on a submission made to a Senate committee.
