According to new reports, Easter Travel plans could be thrown into turmoil as Qantas’ professional engineers consider work bans for the long weekend. Members of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists, and Managers, Australia will meet today in Sydney and Melbourne to discuss ongoing industrial issues and the need to take action.

The senior industrial officer of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists, and Managers, Australia, Alison Rose, said that the message that they have been hearing so far is that they do not really have much of a choice over the strike action. However, Qantas quickly came back with its own view of the situation.

The carrier said that the threats of delays are very “hollow” at best. This is because professional engineers for the company do not work on weekends or on public holidays. A spokesperson for the carrier said that there will be no impact as a result of industrial action on their passengers traveling over Easter.

The union’s engineers are responsible for servicing the entire Qantas fleet and part of the Jetstar fleet. They must sign off on any significant maintenance work before the aircraft is allowed to fly again.

Right now the major concern for the union is the overnight and weekend assignment of inexperienced Qantas managers to cover the positions of specialist senior professional engineers. This problem has been ongoing for months. The union has written to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority about its concerns. They have asked them to independently investigate the claims.

Despite all of this, Qantas remains very positive. The company said that they remain very committed to finding common ground with the union.