The following was info was released by AIPA today:
Jetstar Cadets
Recently questions were asked about the Jetstar cadet pilots and their status. It must be noted first that these pilots are all Australian residents, born and bred Australians – some of them have never been in New Zealand before. It seems that on commencement of this program the young pilots were sent to New Zealand for 3 days and asked to set up a New Zealand bank account and secure a New Zealand Tax File Number. Once this was done, these pilots were sent to the United Kingdom for their A320 training and when they arrived back in Australia they commenced their line training with Jetstar in Australia.
The current legislation in New Zealand precludes pilots flying a High Capacity airliner with less than 500 hours, so for so-called New Zealand based crew they were not entitled to operate in New Zealand. These pilots have been stood down and will be advised of their contract requirements shortly. AIPA has recruited these pilots and is supporting them through this harrowing time. AIPA is keeping a close eye on developments and we are keeping all relevant parties, including the Senate Inquiry, informed. It would be interesting to know what Jetstar would have done if this was not brought to the attention of the Senate Inquiry and the media.