Dubai: Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways passengers could face delays at Australian airports next week when Australian immigration and border protection employees plan to take industrial action.
Workers at Australia’s seven international airports are planning mass strikes from Monday, Australian newspaper The Age reported on Thursday. The industrial action is the latest in an ongoing dispute between the public sector and Australian federal government over pay and conditions.
Etihad Airways, which operates to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, is looking at its contingency plans if flights are affected, a spokesperson told Gulf News by email late on Thursday.
“In the event of disruption to Etihad Airways services, plans will be made for alternate travel and affected guests will be advised accordingly,” the spokesperson said.
Emirates flies daily to Australia’s five largest cities and a spokesperson for the airline told Gulf News on Thursday there are currently no changes to its operations. A spokesperson for Qatar Airways, which flies to Melbourne and Perth, told Gulf News it will post any changes to its Australian schedules on its travel alert page.
Passengers travelling between the Gulf and New Zealand could also be impacted as Australia is used as a common stopover.
