Australian court ends Qantas strike; planes could fly today
Source: Agencies |
October 31, 2011, Monday
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AN Australian court early today ended the strikes and employee lockout that had abruptly grounded Qantas Airways and stranded tens of thousands of passengers worldwide.
CEO Alan Joyce said Qantas Airways will get its planes back in the air as soon as it can.
The statement issued early today said Qantas could resume a limited schedule by midafternoon today if regulators approve.
The arbitration court heard more than 14 hours of testimony from the airline, the Australian government and unions after the government called the emergency hearing on Saturday. Workers have held rolling strikes and refused overtime work for weeks out of worry that some of Qantas' 35,000 jobs would be moved overseas in a restructuring plan.
The unions wanted a temporary suspension of the employee lockout, but the airline said the strikes had been too devastating and it needed certainty to continue operating.
Tribunal President Geoffrey Giudice said the panel decided a temporary suspension would still risk Qantas' grounding its fleet in the future and would not protect the tourism and aviation industry from damage.
Qantas is the largest of Australia's four national airlines. The grounding affected 108 planes in 22 countries.
About 70,000 passengers fly Qantas daily, and would-be fliers over the weekend were stuck at home, hotels, airports or even had to suddenly deplane when Qantas suspended operations. More than 60 flights were in the air at the time but flew to their destinations, and Qantas was paying for passengers to book other flights.
The Qantas CEO said before the panel ruled that the airline could be flying again within hours of a decision. He had estimated the grounding would cost the carrier US$20 million a day.
German tourist Michael Messmann was trying to find a way home from Singapore yesterday. He and his wife spent five weeks traveling around Australia but found their connecting flight home to Frankfurt canceled.
"I don't know the details of the dispute, but it seems like a severe reaction by the airline to shut down all their flights," said Messmann, 68. "We just want to go home."
Australian business traveler Graeme Yeatman sided with the airline, even though he was also trying to find a new flight home to Sydney yesterday after his flight was canceled.
"I think the unions have too much power over Qantas. Even though this is an inconvenience for me, I'm glad the airline is drawing a line in the sand," said Yeatman, 41.
The airline infuriated unions in August when it said it would improve its loss-making overseas business by creating an Asia-based airline with its own name and brand. The five-year restructure plan will cost 1,000 jobs.
CEO Alan Joyce said Qantas Airways will get its planes back in the air as soon as it can.
The statement issued early today said Qantas could resume a limited schedule by midafternoon today if regulators approve.
The arbitration court heard more than 14 hours of testimony from the airline, the Australian government and unions after the government called the emergency hearing on Saturday. Workers have held rolling strikes and refused overtime work for weeks out of worry that some of Qantas' 35,000 jobs would be moved overseas in a restructuring plan.
The unions wanted a temporary suspension of the employee lockout, but the airline said the strikes had been too devastating and it needed certainty to continue operating.
Tribunal President Geoffrey Giudice said the panel decided a temporary suspension would still risk Qantas' grounding its fleet in the future and would not protect the tourism and aviation industry from damage.
Qantas is the largest of Australia's four national airlines. The grounding affected 108 planes in 22 countries.
About 70,000 passengers fly Qantas daily, and would-be fliers over the weekend were stuck at home, hotels, airports or even had to suddenly deplane when Qantas suspended operations. More than 60 flights were in the air at the time but flew to their destinations, and Qantas was paying for passengers to book other flights.
The Qantas CEO said before the panel ruled that the airline could be flying again within hours of a decision. He had estimated the grounding would cost the carrier US$20 million a day.
German tourist Michael Messmann was trying to find a way home from Singapore yesterday. He and his wife spent five weeks traveling around Australia but found their connecting flight home to Frankfurt canceled.
"I don't know the details of the dispute, but it seems like a severe reaction by the airline to shut down all their flights," said Messmann, 68. "We just want to go home."
Australian business traveler Graeme Yeatman sided with the airline, even though he was also trying to find a new flight home to Sydney yesterday after his flight was canceled.
"I think the unions have too much power over Qantas. Even though this is an inconvenience for me, I'm glad the airline is drawing a line in the sand," said Yeatman, 41.
The airline infuriated unions in August when it said it would improve its loss-making overseas business by creating an Asia-based airline with its own name and brand. The five-year restructure plan will cost 1,000 jobs.
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