Qantas has revealed how its specialist team works behind the scenes to manage extreme weather events – even for Taylor Swift shows.
The airline’s meteorologist team – QMet for short – operates out of its headquarters in Mascot to watch for weather patterns and systems all over the world.
Daniel Dihen, the head of the airline’s Integrated Operations Centre, said the “very important” role they play helps inform decisions across the business, including operations, building staff rosters, flight plans and aircraft loading plans.
The team’s work can also explain why a flight has been changed, delayed or cancelled suddenly.
“Mistakes can be expensive but safety is the primary consideration for what we do at QMet,” meteorologist Jacobus Cronje told 9News.
Just last month, the meteorologists alerted the airline of a potential storm the night before global popstar Taylor Swift’s opening show in Sydney.
Dihen said the crew got busy working on a solution to minimise the impact on fans flying in from interstate.
“I took a call at 10 o’clock at night from the team saying, ‘Hey, what about the A380 out of Melbourne tomorrow?'” he said.
“That meant that we could consolidate three 737s and bring back a whole lot of Swifties.”
The team works around the clock and is currently keeping an eye on a cyclone off Mozambique, which could impact flights into South Africa.
“The meteorologists allow us to plan our operation, they are watching weather events across the globe,” Dihen said.
