Has Australia’s Qantas lost its safety edge amid string of mid-air diversions?
- The airline known for its stellar safety record has been hit by a flurry of mechanical malfunctions including an engine shutdown in the past week
- While Australia’s aviation regulator has backed Qantas, ageing fleet and repeated cost cuts under CEO Alan Joyce have put the carrier under deep scrutiny
Qantas Airways Ltd., the airline whose stellar safety record was made famous by Hollywood, is back in the spotlight after a flurry of mechanical malfunctions.
The Australian airline has been hit by a spate of in-flight issues since the middle of last week, starting with a mayday alert and engine shutdown on a plane from Auckland to Sydney. At least four aircraft have since turned around because of problems with wing flaps, warning indicator lights or fumes in the cabin. The planes all landed safely.
The series of incidents is particularly wounding for an airline that has built – and touted – a reputation for safety. Qantas has never suffered a fatal jet accident, a benchmark that entered popular culture when Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1988 movie Rain Man insisted it was the only airline he would fly.
More than three decades later, a key question is whether Qantas has lost its safety edge after repeated cost cuts and job losses under Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, or has simply been unlucky in the past week.