Vic: Union wants Senate inquiry into airline industry

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2000
Vic: Union wants Senate inquiry into airline industry

MELBOURNE, April 27 AAP - The Senate should investigate safety standards in the airline
industry following recent incidents on Qantas flights, the manufacturing union said today.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union called for a Senate inquiry following mechanical
difficulties on board recent Qantas flights which caused passenger alarm.

On Monday, pilots aboard QF567 noticed a "slight decrease in the oil quantity in one
engine" and as a precaution the captain of the 767-200 reduced power to it, but "at no
stage was the engine shut down", a Qantas spokeswoman said.

Over the Easter weekend, part of the undercarriage of a Melbourne-bound 747-300 carrying
303 passengers collapsed before take-off from Rome.

And in the most high-profile incident to date, a Qantas jumbo overshot the runway at
Bangkok airport last September, causing $100 million damage.

AMWU state secretary Julius Roe said the incidents were of a serious nature, and the
Australian public had a right to know about the impact of job losses, contracting out
and out-sourcing on maintenance and safety standards.

"Australians have got a right to know whether our history of safe air travel is being
traded off by the national airlines for cost cutting purposes," he said in a statement.

Mr Roe said the union would oppose Qantas plans to further cut costs by out-sourcing
maintenance jobs off shore.

A Qantas spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority, Peter Gibson, said
there was no evidence to suggest systemic maintenance problems at the airline.

"I think it is an unfortunate case of a string of mishaps," Mr Gibson said.

"There's nothing to connect any of them at this stage in terms of building some sort
of systemic picture of problems."

AAP hmg/jlw

KEYWORD: QANTAS UNION

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