SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Qantas to 'make it good' over foam spill

Qantas has indicated it will support commercial fishers affected by a spill of firefighting foam that leaked into Brisbane waterways from one of its hangars.

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

Qantas has promised to "make it good" to commercial fishers stung by a leak of toxic chemicals from one of its Brisbane hangars.

About 22,000 litres of the foam containing the toxic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) spilled from a failed deluge system at the Brisbane Airport hangar on April 10.

Most of the spill was contained but some of the foam leaked into waterways via a drain, leading to a warning to fishers not to take prawns or other seafood from parts of the Brisbane River and creeks surrounding the airport.

Qantas domestic chief executive Andrew David met with local fishing and other stakeholder groups on Saturday.

He assured those who have suffered commercial harm the airline would make reparations, but stopped short of confirming financial compensation would be on offer.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"Where there is clear evidence of any commercial harm to them, we will make that good," he told reporters in Brisbane.

Mr David apologised over the incident and said the airline had made sure any possible future spill would be contained.

"We absolutely acknowledge that the issue that happened here is a Qantas issue, we've fixed that problem, we are quite disappointed and are very sorry it has happened," he said.

The Queensland government last year banned foams containing PFOA and wants the federal government, which holds jurisdiction over the airport, to do the same.

Mr David said the airline was working to source a firefighting foam that does not contain the substance.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world