May was better , July is not - Over 2,500 Qantas and Jetstar employees will be forced to stand down for a period of two months , as Qantas is seizing some operations in response to recent Covid-19 spikes in Australia.
Qantas saw a sharp decline in travel trends as it experienced operations almost 100 percent of its usual domestic flying capacity in May to less than 40 percent in July due to national lockdowns and travel restrictions.
The stand down is a “temporary measure” to deal with a significant drop in flying caused by Covid-19 restrictions in Greater Sydney in particular and the knock-on border closures in all other states and territories.
Pilots, cabin crew and airport workers from Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will be sent home without pay from mid-August for an estimated two months, the firm said.
"This is clearly the last thing we want to do, but we're now faced with an extended period of reduced flying and that means no work for a number of our people," CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement.
Government Support ?
Income support in the form of government disaster payments will be key to helping eligible employees get through this challenging period and the Qantas Group said it welcomed the targeted Federal Government support offered for those stood down outside of declared hotspots and to retain domestic aviation capability.
Most of the affected staff are based in New South Wales, a state that is largely cut off from the rest of the country and the world by travel restrictions. A lockdown in the country's largest city, Sydney, is now in its sixth week and is likely to last for at least another month.
Guess Qantas will need another top up of govt funding again, given their temporary stand-down of 2,500 workers due to recent domestic Covid outbreaks.
— ????Jommy Tee - electric HiLux owner ???? (@jommy_tee) August 2, 2021
The Flying Kangaroo has received $0.5B of assistance over the past 4 months alone...here are the biggies over that time period. pic.twitter.com/tHa7e2a5s0
This not the first time , it happened earlier as well ! Qantas and it's subsidiary Jetstar have already stood down thousands of employees since March 2020, with Australia entering into strictest form of lockdown to the international flyers.
"Based on current case numbers, it's reasonable to assume that Sydney's borders will be closed for at least another two months," Joyce said.
"We know it will take a few weeks once the outbreak is under control before other states open to New South Wales and normal travel can resume."
