There may be encouraging signs about COVID-19 loosening its global grip but that hasn't helped some ground handling companies during these testing times.
Recently, several of the major ground handling companies voiced their concerns over job security to the UK government as aircraft stopped flying and contracts faltered. The latest area of concern centres on dnata's Australian operation, where the Middle East-headquartered handler deploys around 4,500 staff.
According to sources, the Australian government has ruled that dnata's staff will not be eligible to receive the country's JobKeeper allowance that is designed to help staff who are laid off. The reasoning behind this decision lies with the fact that the handler is owned by a foreign entity (in this case the Emirates Group) and thus does not qualify for the domestic aid.
It is understood that dnata has appealed against the decision.
