Sydney airport will be hit by three straight days of strike action, affecting passengers going away for the long weekend and football fans heading to grand finals.
Baggage handlers and ground staff will stop work at all major Australian airports for one hour at 8:00 am local time on Friday, while customs officers are set to strike at Sydney and Cairns airports on Thursday and Saturday.
Thousands of passengers, including those flying to Melbourne for the AFL grand final and New Zealanders heading to Sydney for the NRL grand final, will be affected by Friday's strike, Qantas said.
"We will be publishing cancellations and delays tomorrow morning, but based on what we know thousands (will be affected)," Qantas spokesman Luke Enright told AAP on Wednesday.
The Transport Workers Union, which is behind Friday's action, said Qantas might lock workers out ahead of the strike, potentially causing major delays.
"Qantas doubled the impact last time by locking out its own workforce.... there is every possibility that they may well make that decision (again)," TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
Qantas denies it locked workers out.
Mr Sheldon wouldn't confirm if more strike action was planned after Friday but said it was likely.
"There is every likelihood of strikes of longer duration (that are) more repetitive on the basis that the company is failing to meet very fundamental expectations of the workforce," he said.
Friday's strike will involve 3800 staff and is part of an ongoing campaign of protected industrial action by baggage handlers and ground staff over pay and conditions.
The strikes by customs officers - which are set to continue into next week - come after a stalemate in negotiations on a new enterprise agreement with Australian Customs and Border Protection.
National Director for Customs and Border Protection, Roxanne Kelley, said major delays would not result from Thursday and Saturday's strikes - scheduled for between 6am and 9am and 7pm and 8pm at Sydney's international terminal and throughout both days in Cairns.
"We believe our contingency arrangements will mean minimal delays tomorrow," she said in a release on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) has told Qantas it intends to take industrial action in Melbourne this Friday and in Brisbane next Monday.
The action is part of a series of one hour stoppages the union has said it will carry out in different cities until mid-December.
ALAEA said its members are seeking the right to continue carrying out pre-flight aircraft safety checks and to retain the ability to maintain aircraft in Australia.
Qantas spokeswoman Oliva Wirth said the action was expected to cause delays for "several thousand" passengers.
(AAP)
