TWO companies that employ ground staff at Albury airport have joined an industry campaign to secure COVID payments being offered to workers doing similar jobs at capital city flight hubs.
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Aus Flight Handling and Star Aviation provide check-in and baggage services for Regional Express and Qantas respectively at the airport.
They are part of the Australian Aviation Ground Handling Industry Alliance which is upset a federal government package does not allow workers with outsourcing companies to access $750 a week payments available to those directly employed by airlines.
Alliance chairman Glenn Rutherford said the package announced this week by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce "specifically excludes ground operations staff employed by specialist providers like ours".
"Specialist ground handlers will be denied the same financial support from the government for doing the same work (as airline employees)," Mr Rutherford said.
At Albury airport, Aus Flight Handling has seven workers and Star Aviation employs a similar number.
Since lockdowns re-emerged in Victoria in May and were followed by a Greater Sydney shutdown there has been a huge drop in passenger flights into and out of Albury.
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Three months ago there were 80 flights a week, currently there are only four, a 95 per cent drop.
That has seen ground handlers having their hours reduced and some who live in Victoria are unable to access NSW COVID disaster payments because they do not reside north of the Murray River.
Aus Flight Handling has shed workers on the Border during the pandemic, with the end of Virgin Australia flights into Albury contributing to the loss of up to 11 jobs.
Mr Rutherford said the alliance's message to Mr Joyce was "that specialist aviation ground handling companies be given the same support that airlines' in-house ground operations personnel have been given by your government".
A representative for Mr Joyce did not respond to The Border Mail on Friday.
Federal government minister and member for Farrer Sussan Ley said millions of taxpayer dollars were being spent to support regional airlines and she believed ground handlers as a whole were benefitting from that largesse.
"It's my understanding the additional Retaining Domestic Airline Capability program applies to all frontline workers employed by the airlines, regardless of where they live," Ms Ley said.
"That said, if Rex or QantasLink or Aus Flight Handling or Star Aviation believe they are missing out on assistance here, I am happy to take their call."
