Qantas engineers are warning of the chance of flight delays at airports around the country as they launch further strike action on Monday morning.

Engineers at Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth airports began walking off the job for two hours from 7am as part of industrial action pushing for a major pay increase.

The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance is warning of a significant and immediate impact on flights during the strike, with engineers in charge of marshalling aircraft and checking planes in between flights downing tools.

It says wages have been frozen for years, and it has been calling for a 15 per cent pay rise with further rises in subsequent years.

“These workers hold special and valuable skills that take a decade to build up,” said Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Steve Murphy.

“They were essential workers during the pandemic, and made sacrifices so Qantas would survive.

“Qantas needs to pay that debt back.”

The Australian Workers Union said the engineers did not take strike action lightly.

“I know that there wouldn’t be a single engineer relishing the idea of delaying passengers,” said AWU national secretary Paul Farrow.

“As a former aircraft engineer myself, I know there is real pride in getting people where they need to go safely but management has backed them into a corner.”

But Qantas says it has contingencies in place and it is not expecting any disruptions.