Jetstar Leaves 787 Dreamliners Grounded As Supply Chain Falters

Australian carrier Jetstar grounded several of its Boeing 787s after a handful of technical issues, from regular operational woes like bird strike damage, lighting strike, and FOD related issues left the aircraft awaiting replacement parts from the USA.

The issue was admitted by Jetstar chief pilot Jeremy Schmidt in a statement explaining the issue. 

"Unfortunately, our Boeing 787 fleet has been impacted by a number of issues, including a lightning strike, a bird strike, damage from an item on the runway and delays sourcing a specific spare part for one of our aircraft due to global supply chain challenges. The part has to be road freighted across the US," he said, placing a portion of the blame on the flagging supply chain as ripples of 2020 continue to be felt around the globe. 

Jetstar's parent company, Qantas, has been facing a basket of operational issues of its own stemming from the post-2020 economy of Australia. Qantas has been so shorthanded that the company requested its home office executives volunteer to work as baggage handlers at the Sydney and Melbourne airports for a few months. The email from Qantas CEO Colin Hughes reminded employees that the baggage role was supposed to be temporary, with 200 head office staff helping at airports through peak travel periods since April. Execs were asked to work handling baggage for 3 or 5 days per week, in half-time shifts up to 6 hours. 

FMI: www.jetstar.com