A Qantas flight attendant has filed a lawsuit against the airline in a Queensland district court after her attendance in a drug and alcohol management programme was allegedly leaked on the Qantas intranet site that was available to thousands of staff.
The unnamed flight attendant is suing the embattled carrier for more than A$400,00 in lost earnings due to needing medical and psychological treatment from the trauma of finding her attendance in the programme had been made public.
The list of attendees in the Qantas ‘drug and alcohol management plan’ was leaked in 2020, around two years after the woman had been enrolled in the programme.
The published list contained further personal and sensitive details including the allegation that the woman’s attendance in the programme had been mandated because she had been found to be “under the influence of alcohol whilst at work”.
The woman refutes the allegation that she was found under the influence of alcohol at work and contends that she voluntarily participated in the programme.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the veteran flight attendant argue that the airline should have done more to ensure that private and sensitive information was, indeed, kept private.
The woman says she has suffered “considerable pain, suffering, inconvenience and disability” as a result of the airline’s ‘negligent’ conduct.
Qantas has not yet responded to the allegations filed in district court.
On Thursday, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce triumphantly declared that the airline was “back to its best” following a turbulent recovery from a years-long pandemic shutdown.
Joyce claims the airline is now the most reliable domestic Australian carrier, and strained operations have improved considerably since negative headlines about cancelled flights and lost bags seemed to be an almost daily occurrence.
The under-pressure CEO also downplayed a recent spate of high-profile aircraft diversions, saying that Qantas pilots “always err on the side of caution”.
