On May 28, 2021, a Qantas Boeing 737 aircraft sustained damage from a baggage belt loader vehicle while on the ground at Darwin Airport (DRW), Australia. The baggage loader crash occurred two days after an identical incident with a retro-style Boeing 737 aircraft at Perth Airport (PER).
The Qantas Boeing 737-800, registered as VH-VZH, suffered damage after a baggage vehicle crashed into the aircraft on the tarmac. The crash into the aircraft left scratches at the bottom of the Boeing 737 fuselage.
BREAKING: a second @Qantas plane has been damaged in a collision with a vehicle used to load bags – this time at Darwin Airport. This puts further into doubt safety at Qantas after it outsourced its entire ground operations #auspol pic.twitter.com/QmdqR9sOet
— TWU Australia (@TWUAus) May 28, 2021
An identical incident occurred on May 26, 2021, when Qantas retro-style Boeing 737-800 also sustained damage after the baggage loader crashed into the aircraft. It was alleged that the incident occurred due to a faulty brake in the baggage loader. No passengers or crew were injured during that incident.
According to Australia’s Transport Worker Union (TWU), both incidents occurred because Qantas’ entire ground operations were outsourced, as the airline slashed costs due to the ongoing pandemic. The union is now calling for a safety investigation into Qantas’ ground operations, as it claims that Qantas violated security requirements.