Qantas crews begin 'waking up' planes after coronavirus halt in preparation for domestic travel

Qantas has begun unwrapping some of its stored planes in preparation for a boost in domestic travel.

Engineers at Sydney Airport began "waking up" a Boeing 737 after months of not being used for flights amid major disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Qantas' 'Yarralumla' plane has spent the past two months parked on the east-west runway after the airline was forced to ground most of its fleet due to COVID-19.

Ground crews had spent hundreds of hours wrapping the aircraft and taping up holes to prevent birds and insects nesting inside.

The crews today began the process of unwrapping, removing plastic covers from engines and freeing wheels to check for flat spots .

"It's just pretty exciting to get it off the runway and wake it up... it's a good day" John Walker, Qantas Engineering's head of line maintenance, told 9News.

"Sometimes they wake up cranky and sometimes they wake up in a good mood. It just depends on the aeroplane."

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic the airline was operating at just five per cent of its domestic capacity . Qantas hopes to increase services to 40 per cent by July.

The airline still has 50 Boeing 737's stored and parked across Australia. They will begin 'waking up' the others as domestic travel increases.