SYDNEY (AFP) — Qantas flight attendants want assurances from management that the Australian carrier's planes are safe after a third mid-air incident in two weeks, a union official said Sunday.
Attendants are concerned about media reports about maintenance practices at Qantas and do not have the specialised knowledge to assess the incidents, said Steven Reed, president of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia.
"We want some assurances from the company that these are isolated incidents," Reed said. "We need to meet with the company at a senior level to have these assurances."
The latest trouble came on Saturday, when a Qantas Boeing 767 bound for Manila was forced to turn back to Sydney after developing a leak of hydraulic fluid while in the air.
On July 25, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route to Melbourne from Hong Kong made an emergency landing in Manila after a blast believed to have been caused by an exploding oxygen cylinder ripped a large hole in its fuselage.
Then last Monday, a Qantas 737-800 was forced to return to Adelaide after a landing gear door failed to retract.
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