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AFAP: Pilots Oppose Government Decision Allowing Qantas To Hire Foreign Pilots

Direct News Source

In response to the Federal Government's recent decision to allow the Qantas Group to employ a large number of foreign pilots, AFAP President, Captain David Booth said, "There is not a pilot shortage in Australia, rather a bottleneck in the pilot training pipeline".

Captain Booth went on to say, "This decision is a slap in the face to hundreds of qualified young Australian pilots who are ready, willing and able to take up pilot positions in the Qantas Group".

"It is very disappointing that the government has seen fit to reward Qantas for their poor planning with this band-aid solution", said Captain Booth.

The aviation industry has always been cyclical. As recently as 2015 the Qantas Group said it had too many pilots and took steps such as base closures and forced demotions. They also halted all recruitment into Qantas mainline for the period 2009 to 2016 despite forecast pilot retirements and having numerous orders for new B787 aircraft in the pipeline.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) strongly opposed this request and made a detailed submission to Qantas and Government addressing and putting forward 10 reasons why the labour agreement is not the appropriate answer.

The AFAP has requested and remains open to hold round-table meetings with all the stakeholders to find a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the current problems being experienced by general aviation and regional airlines.

This press release was sourced from Australian Federation of Air Pilots on 07-Aug-2018.