Qantas Explains Why Plane Was Full Easter Weekend

Qantas Airways has garnered a lot of criticism after a picture depicting a nearly full flight over Easter weekend emerged on social media. The public accused the airline of disregarding the call for social distancing to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

The image of Qantas flight QF755 from Townsville to Brisbane was shared on April 13 via Twitter by a concerned and frustrated passenger who was using the airline to travel for work. The user questioned, “What kind of social distancing is this?”

This is a on a flight from Nth Qld to Bris today for work.
What kind of social distancing is this? Pls RT. #covid19australia@Qantas @AnnastaciaMP @MadFckingWitch @vanOnselenP @abcnews @ScottMorrisonMP pic.twitter.com/dAs9TNjPXf

— Greenmitty (@greenmitty) April 13, 2020

The tweet had since gone viral, with over 500 retweets and hundreds of comments similarly criticizing the airline for allowing passengers to fill rows of seats without even wearing face masks.

This is a bloody disgrace, there should be compliance with all generally accepted rules. Special exemptions for some businesses just create huge holes in the the work everyone is supposed to be working for.
I guess it pays to have contacts in high places!

— Ian Martin (@ianm3631) April 13, 2020

This is bad, when the rest of the country are isolating. Qantas sin bin.

— Patricia Marshall (@patsymarshall50) April 13, 2020

A spokesperson for Qantas came forward to explain why some flights such as QF755 were filled up.

“The average load factors on our aircraft have been very low, with most flights around 30 percent full, so social distancing has been happening by default,” the spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday. “The weekend saw some flights that were busier, which was the case on this particular flight.”

“As a result, we have introduced formal social distancing, this means customers will be seated at the window or aisle with the middle seat remaining vacant,” they added.