Qantas lands itself in hot water after video of baggage handlers ‘kicking and slamming’ luggage goes viral
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Qantas is feeling the heat as of late with flight delays and unusable flight credits. On top of that, they were recently named the ‘shonkiest’ company in Australia. You can read more on that here.
And now Qantas has landed in hot water (again) after video footage revealed how badly their baggage handlers treat luggage.
When we travel, we expect our belongings to make it to our destination in the same condition that they were in when we packed them. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
In a now-viral video with over 5 million views, three baggage handlers at Melbourne airport were filmed recklessly mishandling luggage.
The workers were seen throwing, kicking, and slamming luggage onto a conveyor belt. Some of the bags were thrown so hard they fell off the other side of the carousel as one of the men laughed, while another lifted a bag over his head and threw it down with force.
It was reported that Qantas and Swissport Australia – the bag-handling subcontractor – launched an ‘urgent investigation’ after being made aware of the video’s existence.
‘The behaviour in this video is clearly not acceptable, and our contracted ground handler is conducting an urgent investigation,’ a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Swissport told reporters: ‘Swissport trains and manages all staff to handle customer possessions with care and diligence.’
He added that the actions of the staff seen in the video appeared ‘to have contravened those service level standards’.
Brad Moore, CEO of Swissport, condemned the reckless actions of the staff. He also shared that the three men have now ‘stood down pending urgent investigation’ and had been given a warning with ‘serious disciplinary action’.
Mr Moore continued: ‘The behaviours in the video let all of us down – most importantly our frontline staff who have worked so hard through [COVID] to assure quality standards in at times challenging circumstances.’
In his statement, he reassured everyone that disrespectful behaviour will not be tolerated.
The video amassed over 27,000 comments – most of them were angry at the actions of the staff.
‘People pay so much money for their flights and trust that our property isn’t being intentionally damaged when we don’t have it with us,’ said one woman.
Someone else wrote: ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Bet they would kick a stink if someone treated their stuff this way.’
‘Is this like a competition [of] who can destroy luggage the fastest?’ Asked another.
One user said that it would take more effort for them to lift it and throw the bags with force, rather than just place it on the carousel. ‘If they don’t like it, find another job,’ they added.
The video, which was originally posted on TikTok, can be viewed below:
Well, members, what do you think about this story? Have you encountered similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below!
And now Qantas has landed in hot water (again) after video footage revealed how badly their baggage handlers treat luggage.
When we travel, we expect our belongings to make it to our destination in the same condition that they were in when we packed them. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
In a now-viral video with over 5 million views, three baggage handlers at Melbourne airport were filmed recklessly mishandling luggage.
The baggage handlers have been stood down after the footage emerged online. Credit: Esther/Pexels
The workers were seen throwing, kicking, and slamming luggage onto a conveyor belt. Some of the bags were thrown so hard they fell off the other side of the carousel as one of the men laughed, while another lifted a bag over his head and threw it down with force.
It was reported that Qantas and Swissport Australia – the bag-handling subcontractor – launched an ‘urgent investigation’ after being made aware of the video’s existence.
‘The behaviour in this video is clearly not acceptable, and our contracted ground handler is conducting an urgent investigation,’ a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Swissport told reporters: ‘Swissport trains and manages all staff to handle customer possessions with care and diligence.’
He added that the actions of the staff seen in the video appeared ‘to have contravened those service level standards’.
Brad Moore, CEO of Swissport, condemned the reckless actions of the staff. He also shared that the three men have now ‘stood down pending urgent investigation’ and had been given a warning with ‘serious disciplinary action’.
Qantas and Swissport launched an urgent investigation regarding the incident. Credit: Sohel Patel/Pexels
Mr Moore continued: ‘The behaviours in the video let all of us down – most importantly our frontline staff who have worked so hard through [COVID] to assure quality standards in at times challenging circumstances.’
In his statement, he reassured everyone that disrespectful behaviour will not be tolerated.
The video amassed over 27,000 comments – most of them were angry at the actions of the staff.
‘People pay so much money for their flights and trust that our property isn’t being intentionally damaged when we don’t have it with us,’ said one woman.
Someone else wrote: ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Bet they would kick a stink if someone treated their stuff this way.’
‘Is this like a competition [of] who can destroy luggage the fastest?’ Asked another.
One user said that it would take more effort for them to lift it and throw the bags with force, rather than just place it on the carousel. ‘If they don’t like it, find another job,’ they added.
The video, which was originally posted on TikTok, can be viewed below:
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