CANBERRA: The leading airline of Australia, Qantas, said on Monday that as online shopping deliveries increase in the run-up to Christmas, it anticipates recovering about 75% of its domestic freight on pre-Covid levels.

According to the airline, its network of freight airlines would carry almost 26,000 tonnes of freight both domestically and internationally, an increase of more than 50% over its normal monthly uplift.

In a bid to fulfill the rising demand for e-commerce, Qantas also recently said that it would be investing in six Airbus A321 aircraft and converting two A330 passenger jets into freighters.

"In the last few weeks of December, many consumers super-charge their online shopping sprees to take advantage of door-to-door express delivery for themselves as well as gifts for family and friends," said Qantas Freight Executive Manager Catriona Larritt.

"We'll carry almost 1,200 tonnes of cargo during the peak days leading up to Christmas, nearly double our daily average amount across our freight fleet and in the hold of passenger flights." In the weeks before Christmas, Australia Post, the country's postal service provider, expanded its dedicated freighter capacity by up to 50% to manage the surge in packages and mail.

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