Jetstar's Sydney ground crew risked being crushed by aircraft or sucked into plane engines, according to a government notice issued on the eve of rolling strikes over safety.
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A separate notice issued to the airline by the industrial safety watchdog last month said "frequent" machinery malfunctions during ground operations put staff at risk.
SafeWork NSW slapped Jetstar with an improvement notice on Thursday evening as crew prepared to walk off the job on Friday morning in a pay and safety dispute.
"Ground crews are at risk to health and safety from serious injury such as being crushed, ingested or other, when working around operational aircraft," the notice seen by AAP states.
The risks stemmed from the failure of the airline to put appropriate numbers of ground crew and supervisors to each aircraft, and to ensure ground crew completed all tasks before moving on to another plane.
The notice issued by SafeWork NSW in November and seen by AAP said malfunctions in an aircraft tug used to move planes on the ground put staff at risk of colliding with rotating engine fans.
"Workers may be at risk to health and safety during aircraft ground operations from collision with moving aircraft and rotating engine compressor fans during aircraft push backs due to the frequent and inadvertent malfunctions and breakdowns of the Schopf 'Power Push Unit'," the notice said.
Jetstar staff are striking less than two weeks out from Christmas after the budget airline rejected workers' demands for pay increases, minimum hours on the job and safety improvements.
"The airline has cut its staffing levels right back to the bone, meaning workers are constantly under pressure," Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.
Jetstar said it would never put staff at risk and has "robust safety management systems in place".
"The TWU has a history of playing the safety card when it suits them, and this is another example of that," Jetstar said in a statement.
"(The safety systems) are regularly reviewed and audited by a range of regulators, including the Civil Aviation Safety Authority."
The tug mentioned in the November notice was fully compliant and regularly serviced, Jetstar said.
"It is on low-rotation use. We would never risk the safety of our people."
Baggage handlers and ground staff are striking at different times on Friday in Sydney, at Melbourne's Tullamarine and Avalon airports, and in Brisbane, Cairns and Adelaide.
Jetstar said less than half its staff voted to take industrial action and the TWU's list of claims would result in a 12 per cent rise in costs.
Australian Associated Press
