Tigerair Australia Pilots To Take Industrial Action

The AFAP pilot union at Australian low cost carrier Tigerair has announced industrial action from Friday May 4, unless an agreement on pay can be reached with the airline.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots said that “protected industrial action” will start on Friday, which could mean flight delays and cancellations over the weekend.

The work-to-rule is scheduled to start at 06:00 (6am), Friday May 4 and run until 23:59 (11.59pm) on Sunday May 6.

“We have chosen not to exercise our right to a complete stoppage of work, instead we have limited the actions to not working outside a pilot’s published roster, and not operating an aircraft until all allowable defects have been resolved,” said AFAP executive director Simon Lutton.

He said the decision was not taken lightly and the union had given Tigerair four days more notice than legally required, to allow it to prepare for any disruption to flights.

“Tigerair pilots fly the same aircraft as their counterparts at Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas, however this is not reflected in their employment conditions. The current agreement is well below industry standards, both in terms of pay and work-life balance. Tigerair pilots are simply looking for a fair deal,” Lutton said.

Tigerair said it had contingency plans in place and that customers with flight bookings for the weekend should travel to the airport as scheduled unless notified by the airline. Passengers would be rebooked on other Tigerair or Virgin Australia services where possible.

Tigerair Australia operates a fleet of 18 aircraft on domestic Australian routes. It is a fully owned subsidiary of the country’s second biggest airline Virgin Australia.