September 28, 2026, 5:09 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Strikes by ground staff regularly cause uncertainty and frustration among vacationers. Flights are either significantly delayed or don’t take off at all. Recently, employees of a budget airline in Australia went on strike–to the great delight of passengers. But how can that be?
Last week (September 23 and 24, 2026), employees of the Australian budget airline Jetstar went on strike. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, there were neither flight cancellations nor delays. Instead of stopping work to protest against their employer, passengers were processed as usual. However, the employees of the Qantas subsidiary waived all additional fees at the counter.
No Extra Costs for Passengers
Normally, you have to dig deep into your pocket if your suitcase is too heavy at the check-in counter. During the labor dispute, however, passengers didn’t have to pay for that. If you wanted to change your seat spontaneously, that usually costs extra too–but here, the fees were also waived. Similarly, no extra costs were charged for late check-ins.
Instead of angering passengers, the strike targeted exactly those who were supposed to feel the pressure: the airline. And this, of course, was much to the delight of the passengers.
Employees would continue to take care of passengers, but they wouldn’t collect any additional fees for Jetstar until the airline showed that it took its workforce seriously, said Scott Cowen, chairman of the Australian Services Union, in a report by the “Newcastle Herald.”
Only passengers who would have had to pay directly at the counter were exempt from the additional fees. Extra baggage booked online still cost the regular price.
Action Is Not New
As reported by the “Berliner Zeitung,” the union has used this “trick” at Jetstar before. In 2011, a so-called “No Weigh Day” was declared. At that time, however, only excess baggage fees were waived.
Back then, the union calculated that up to $20,000 could be collected in a single day at the Sydney check-in for excess baggage alone.
The current action took place at several airports. Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Avalon, Gold Coast, and Cairns were affected. The union had cleverly chosen the timing: In several parts of the country, school holidays are underway, and many are traveling to Melbourne for the Australian Football League finals.