Incident Overview
A customer journey lead (CJL) entered an incorrect aircraft configuration code when creating an addstop flight for the Canberra to Sydney sector. This skill-based slip involved entering one incorrect digit. The CJL described a high workload environment at the time due to the number of diverted flights and felt time pressure to complete the task.
Data Entry Error
The CJL committed the flight in the Altéa Inventory system before identifying the error. A pop-up highlighting business class seating issues was presented, but the CJL did not specifically recall sighting or acknowledging it, likely due to expectation bias—observing what was expected rather than what occurred. After later correcting the code, the CJL did not notice that the system had automatically changed the passenger composition, offloading some passengers or listing them as standby.
Flight Closure
The Qantas airport duty manager (ADM) at Canberra closed the flight without identifying 51 offloaded and standby passengers. The ADM recalled it was unusual for standby passengers on a diversion flight and did not see them in the Altéa Customer Management system, consistent with expectation bias. After becoming aware of the issue via a customer service agent, the ADM attempted to onboard them unsuccessfully and assumed load control would resolve it, taking no further action.
Loadsheet Issuance
The load controller (LOCO) had ongoing concerns about the validity of the information but issued the loadsheet after the ADM's passenger clearance confirmed the number of onboard passengers, which was incorrect. The LOCO had exhausted efforts to resolve anomalies and, after communicating concerns to the load control system manager (LCSM), was advised to use the flight management system data, resulting in an erroneous loadsheet.
Contributing Factors
After correcting a minor data input error, the customer journey department did not notice an automatic reduction in allocated passengers. Additionally, Qantas airport personnel inadvertently used erroneous passenger data to close the flight and, after identifying the issue, did not ensure load control was informed.