Qantas grounds entire fleet, tells passengers to leave

UPDATE: An unprecedented 12-hour session of the Fair Work Australia Tribunal late last night ordered an end to the industrial action of all three unions and Qantas and demanded planes be put back in the air after safety clearances were received. Qantas will fly again sometime afternoon today and CEO Alan Joyce has claimed victory in the dispute. The decision was made shortly after 2am. The unions and Qantas will now be forced into 21 days of negotiations. To find out more about what they’re negotiating, check out the cheat sheet here.

Here’s the original story:

Qantas Airways has grounded its entire fleet of international and domestic planes in a bid to break the union protests and strikes that have besieged it in the past weeks.

The stop-fly order was effective immediately and planes about to take off all around the world were ordered back to terminals and passengers told to either go home (if they could) or find accommodation.

The no-fly precedes a lockout which will take place from 8pm Monday will prevent all staff involved in the industrial dispute from entering work areas.

The retaliation from Qantas will affect at least 13,000 passengers in the next 24-hours alone.

Qantas Airways posted this announcement to its website:

“This step is being taken under the provisions of the Fair Work Act in response to industrial action taken by these unions. The financial impact of action taken to date has reached $68 million and the action is costing Qantas approximately $15 million per week in lost revenue. Approximately 70,000 passengers have been affected and more than 600 flights cancelled.

Pilots, licenced engineers and baggage, ground and catering staff are essential to Qantas operations and the lock-out will therefore make it necessary for all Qantas aircraft to be grounded. For precautionary reasons, this will take place immediately (as at 5pm AEDT, Saturday 29 October 2011).

Aircraft currently in the air will complete the sectors they are operating. However, there will be no further Qantas domestic departures or international departures anywhere in the world. This will have an estimated financial impact on Qantas of $20 million per day.

News.com.au reported:

“Mr Joyce said his hand had been tipped by the impossible demands of the three unions: the Transport Workers Union, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association and Australian and International Pilots Association.

“They are trashing our strategy and our brand,” he said. “They are deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight.”

In addition to pay rises, Qantas engineers, pilots and ground staff are protesting at management’s plans to restructure the airline, with job losses of 1000 and a new non-Qantas branded offshoot to be based in Asia.

The Federal Government said it was ‘extremely concerned’ for the future of Qantas and its workforce and would be making an application to Fair Work Australian in relation to the actions of both the airline and the union.

The Fair Work Australia decision will now be today (Sunday). Alan Joyce said of it: “A suspension may not necessarily mean the airline gets back in the air. A termination gives us certainty, a suspension, depending on what the suspension looks like, does not necessarily give us certainty.”

Shareholders yesterday voted at the Qantas AGM to hand CEO Alan Joyce a 71 per cent pay rise. CEOs over the past five years have cost the company $55 million.

A Qantas spokesperson said the company’s executive team would not be paid during the lockout.

Qantas has offered stranded passengers $250 a night for accommodation and $100 a day for food.

Only customers travelling within the next 24 hours should call Qantas contact centres (on 13 13 13).

Has this affected you or your family? What do you think of this action?

NB: Virgin is offering stranded passengers a special fare for the next five days. Phone 1800 142 467 for inquiries. More staff and planes have been called in to help.

For those affected looking to Virgin Australia for help, this is the website you need to keep checking.

The full Qantas details are here.

And here’s the Twitter updates:

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