Baggage handlers incorrectly unloaded guns into airport arrivals areas where 'anyone' could have picked them up, union documents show

• Baggage handlers working for Qantas incorrectly unloaded guns into arrivals areas, a union claims. 
• On Tuesday, the Transport Workers Union leaked a dossier of memos sent by managers at Swissport.
• Procedures relating to the handling of firearms were updated in July, per the Guardian. 

Baggage handlers incorrectly unloading firearms into arrivals areas were among a string of safety incidents reported by managers working for Australian flag carrier airline Qantas, memos leaked by an Australian union show. 

On Tuesday, the Transport Workers Union published excerpts from a dossier of memos sent by managers at Swissport, one of the outsourced baggage handling companies used by Qantas. The Guardian newspaper also obtained a copy of the documents, which came from safety reports sent between January and July this year.

In April, workers were warned twice about incidents involving firearms, the Guardian reported, including one, sent on April 30, which claimed: "There has been an increase of incidents where firearms have been incorrectly offloaded onto the arrival's carousel, rather than delivered to Baggage Services."

"These are serious security breaches since these items are left unattended on the arrival's carousel, which is open to the general public, effectively allowing anyone to pick the item up and walk away," the memo said, per the Guardian. 

Procedures relating to the handling of firearms were updated in July, the Guardian's report added.

Another memo, shared by the union, said workers failed to close the rear cargo door of a Boeing 737 after the completion of loading. 

The union said the documents were obtained through worker surveys. It said it has provided the documents to safety regulators as well as Australia's Minister for Transport, and is calling for an investigation into the airline's supply chain.

The Transport Workers Union has been highly critical of Qantas, after the company replaced 1,700 in-house ground handling staff with workers from outsourced firms, including Swissport, in 2020. Qantas maintains that the decision was a cost-cutting measure, aimed at saving the company AU$100 million ($67 million) a year. 

In June, the airline lodged an appeal to the Australian High Court after a Federal Court judge ruled the sackings were unlawful, per Australian Aviation. 

Qantas let go around 9,000 of its 30,000 workers during the pandemic and like airlines globally has been beset by operational challenges leading to mass cancellations, baggage mishaps, and flight delays this summer. CEO Alan Joyce apologized to customers in August, blaming staff shortages caused by increased sick time for the problems. 

Several of the memos highlight understaffing as a safety issue, the union said.  

Swissport and Qantas did not immediately reply to Insider's request for further comment.

A spokesperson for Qantas told the Guardian that specialist ground handlers have a lower rate of incidents compared since the work was outsourced.

"We operate in one of the most closely regulated industries in Australia and are subject to considerable oversight from numerous authorities," they told the Guardian.

A Swissport spokesperson told the Guardian that the company encourages staff to report safety issues.