Qantas Ordered to Resume Flying After Grounding 108 Flights

An Australian arbitration court ordered Australia’s flying kangaroo Qantas Airways Ltd. to resume flights and ordered an end to employee strikes.

Qantas planes have been grounded due to an industrial dispute with its union members since late last week, severely disrupting domestic and international travel, as well as revenues for the airline and economic activity for Australia.

A Qantas spokesperson said that clearing the flight backlog and rebooking passengers could take days to complete, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The grounding was not only unprecedented but also chaotic for travelers in 22 countries.

Over 68,000 passengers, including 17 heads of state have been affected by the historic halt of flights since the company’s Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce made the announcement on Saturday, Oct. 30.

As of Monday morning local time, Australia’s work tribunal—Fair Work Australia—reached a decision to end the lockout following 14 hours of testimony from employees, company representatives, and union members.

The planned lockout of Qantas employees who were involved in the industrial action was a premeditated attempt by Joyce to address union demands and costly strikes, which were costing the airline $16 million a week. Union employees had been holding rolling strikes every few weeks. The key grievances of the employees were regarding Qantas’s plan to restructure and move jobs and operations offshore to Asia. This would result in 1,000 job losses out of its 35,000-strong workforce.

There were 108 planes grounded as of Sunday, and the standstill of flights is costing $21 million a day, said Joyce. The grounding of flights is expected to last at least until 12 p.m. Sydney time on Monday, based on the messages from the carrier’s Twitter account.

The timing of the drastic plans to ground the flights impacted domestic Australia as well as international travel. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held on the west coast of Australia in Perth. The meeting, which occurred late last week and over the weekend, is held every two years.

Australia’s tourism claims to be on a red alert due to the Qantas flight halt. “It is clear that the tourism industry is being gravely (affected),” Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said in a statement.

Pilots are also wearing red ties to symbolize their request at seeking the same employment conditions irrespective of their flight duties with Qantas or its budget brand, Jetstar.

“It’s unprecedented and really it has hijacked the nation. It really has put everyone on notice and ... it’s forcing the government’s hand on this,” Barry Jackson of the Australian and International Pilots Association told Sky News.

Qantas is the world’s 10th largest airline by revenue.