Industry figures quoted by Australia's Sydney Morning Herald this week show about 13,000 passengers were affected by pre-Xmas delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of ground staff, responsible for checking in passengers, cleaning and loading and moving planes around airports.

The Australian Aviation Ground Handlers Industry Alliance says it costs up to A$18,000 to train and certify each worker and warned its members do not have the cash flow to rapidly train the more than 10,000 staff the sector would need to return to capacity.

 

The government says it has committed more than A$1 billion in support for airports and airlines and deputy prime minister and Transport minister Michael McCormack said in a statement that support to airlines and airports had 'filtered down' to ground handlers.