An acute labour shortage has forced Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) to ask senior executives to work as baggage handlers for three months.
Approximately 100 volunteers are needed to serve at airports in Sydney and Melbourne - with the job involving loading and unloading luggage as well as moving baggage around airports.
As borders reopen, the Australian airline is struggling to resume its services.
"The high levels of winter flu and a Covid spike across the community, coupled with the ongoing tight labour market, make resourcing a challenge across our industry," Qantas' chief operating officer Colin Hughes told the BBC.
Managers and executives will need to work four or six hour shifts a day in baggage handling roles, three or five days a week, and should also be able to carry suitcases weighing up to 32kg.
"We've been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers' expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves - and that we've been pulling out all stops to improve our performance," a Qantas spokesperson told the BBC.
"As we have done in the past during busy periods, around 200 head office staff have helped at airports during peak travel periods since Easter."
During the pandemic, many countries closed their borders, grounding planes, including Qantas, with many airlines laying off ground staff.
Covid travel restrictions in Australia were among the strictest in the world, with controls only lifted in November 2021.