Canberra, Dec 19 (IANS): Australian flag carrier Qantas announced on Monday that it is expected to recover almost 75 per cent of its domestic freight on pre-Covid levels as online shopping deliveries ramp up ahead of Christmas.

The airline saidthat its freight airline network would carry around 26,000 tonnes of freight both domestically and internationally, up more than 50 per cent on its average monthly uplift, reports Xinhua news agency.

Qantas also announced recently it was investing in six Airbus A321 aircraft, as well as converting two A330 passenger jets to freighters to meet the growing e-commerce demand.

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

"In the busiest days leading up to Christmas we'll carry around 1,200 tonnes of cargo, around double our daily average amount across our freight fleet and in the belly of passenger flights."

Australia Post, the national postal service provider, has also increased its dedicated freighter capacity by up to 50 per cent in the weeks leading up to Christmas to handle the surging parcels and mail.