Qantas Strike Disrupts Australian Air Freight

24 September 2026

Executive Summary

Hundreds of Australian aviation workers have begun a 24-hour strike today, creating disruption to air freight operations at Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth airports.

The action involves employees of Qantas subsidiaries Australian airExpress and Qantas Ground Express, which handle freight including Australia Post shipments.

Some QantasLink ground employees are also participating.

The Transport Workers’ Union says freight operations are already being affected.

At Brisbane Airport, the union said trucks were barely leaving the freight facility and cargo was not being unloaded from aircraft.

Sydney Airport is facing an additional disruption.

Approximately 400 airport security workers are undertaking separate stoppages today, including two two-hour periods.

Qantas says contingency arrangements are in place and it does not expect the industrial action to cause significant disruption to its passenger customers.

For freight customers, however, the risk has now moved from a threatened stoppage to an operational event.

UK Impact

UK businesses moving time-sensitive goods to or from Australia could be affected through:

• Air freight.
• Express parcels.
• Pharmaceuticals.
• E-commerce.
• Electronics.
• Spare parts.
• Perishable goods.
• Postal shipments.

Goods travelling through Australian domestic networks after international arrival may also encounter delays.

Businesses should therefore establish who handles cargo after it reaches Australia rather than assuming an international flight arriving normally guarantees final delivery.

Global Impact

Air freight is often used precisely because cargo cannot tolerate lengthy delays.

That makes even relatively short disruption significant for goods including:

• Medical products.
• Manufacturing components.
• Aircraft parts.
• Electronics.
• Perishables.
• High-value goods.

Backlogs can also continue after industrial action ends because accumulated freight must be processed alongside new arrivals.

The dispute demonstrates another recurring logistics vulnerability:

the aircraft does not need to stop flying for the cargo supply chain to stop moving.

Ground handling, security screening, trucking and warehouse operations are all critical components of air freight.

Our View

Businesses with Australian cargo movements should contact freight providers today.

They should ask:

• Is cargo currently at an affected airport?
• Has it been unloaded?
• Has customs clearance occurred?
• Is warehouse handling available?
• Are trucks entering and leaving normally?
• Is Australia Post involved?
• Are FedEx or UPS movements affected?
• Can urgent cargo use another handler?
• Can cargo move through Melbourne?
• Are connecting flights being missed?
• Could perishables deteriorate?
• Is temperature-controlled storage available?
• Are contractual delivery deadlines at risk?
• Could expedited replacement shipments be required?
• Will additional storage charges arise?
• How quickly will any backlog clear after the strike?

Yesterday this was a forecast risk.

Today it is an operational risk.

That distinction matters because contingency planning should now move from preparation to identifying exactly where individual shipments are located.

Risk Indicator: HIGH – AUSTRALIA, AIR FREIGHT & INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Disclaimer

The information contained within these Market Alerts is provided for general market awareness and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, investment, regulatory or insurance advice. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy at the time of publication using multiple reputable and independently verified sources, geopolitical events, legislation, regulation and market conditions may change rapidly. Readers should obtain appropriate professional advice before acting upon any information contained herein.

Invictus Risk Solutions LLP – Helping organisations stay ahead of emerging risks through informed insight and independent analysis.