A video showing staff at Melbourne airport throwing luggage has gone viral and prompted an investigation by Qantas and Swissport.
Qantas and Swissport Australia have launched investigations after a video showed on-ground staff at Melbourne airport mishandling luggage and laughing about it.
In a video doing rounds on the internet, luggage handlers at what is presumed to be Melbourne airport were seen throwing passengers’ luggage onto a conveyor belt. The clip also shows them kicking and slamming the luggage hard enough for it to bounce off of the belt, and laughing about it. One man is also seen picking up a bag and lifting it over his head, before throwing it down on the belt as his colleague laughs.
Shortly after, a Qantas representative called out the staff’s behaviour and announced that they were contacting Swissport to launch an internal investigation into the incident. “The behaviour in this video is clearly not acceptable, and our contracted ground handler is conducting an urgent investigation,” a spokesperson said.
Swissport later followed up with an update of their own, claiming that the staff in question had been ‘stood down’ as they probed into the matter. “Swissport trains and manages all staff to handle customer possessions with care and diligence.” a representative said.
“The actions of staff in the video appear to have contravened those service level standards. As a result, the staff in question have been stood down pending an urgent investigation.” they added.
As reported by news.com.au, the video and subsequent probe also prompted a sternly worded email from Swissport Australia CEO Brad Moore, who warned that such incidents would result in ‘serious disciplinary action’ going forward.
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“Disrespectful behaviour to our customer luggage and personal effects will not be tolerated and will result in serious disciplinary action,” he said.
Moore went on to add: “Since the video was released, I have received many messages from team members across the network, sharing these concerns and equally voicing their commitment to our Safety and Service standards. We cannot allow the actions of a very small minority to undermine the first class standards of the many.”
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