Qantas Grounds Fleet Amid Row With Unions

Australian airline Qantas has grounded its entire international and domestic fleet in the face of a bitter dispute with unions.

The carrier also said it was locking out all staff involved in industrial action from Monday evening.

The move is expected to cost the company up to £13m a day and affect some 70,000 passengers.

In the UK, four Qantas flights due to depart from London Heathrow today will now not fly, and another four flights on Sunday will also not leave.

Customers who have not begun their journey can get a full refund on tickets for today, Sunday and Monday.

It is expected that a number of British Airways flights on Qantas planes will also be affected.

Qantas has been forced to reduce and reschedule flights for weeks because of a series of strikes over employees' concerns that their jobs were being moved overseas.

The airline's 108 aircraft will remain on the ground until an agreement on pay and conditions is reached with unions representing pilots, mechanics and other ground staff.

Chief executive Alan Joyce told a media conference in Sydney: "I have no option but to force the issue."

He added: "I'm actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline.

"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."

Mr Joyce said passengers left stranded will be provided with accommodation and the airline will help with alternative arrangements.

Members of the Australian Licensed Engineers union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) have taken part in the strikes.

AIPA's Barry Jackson told Sky News: "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.

"We really need to address this sooner rather than later and get the aircraft back in the air."

But Mr Joyce hit out at the unions for running "utterly destructive industrial campaigns".

"These unions are sticking by impossible claims, they are not just to do with pay but also the unions dictating how we run our business," he said.

"These are impossible demands. We cannot agree on them because they would ultimately put the Qantas group at risk."

The move comes after a heated AGM earlier this week saw Qantas management come under fire for plans to refocus the airline on Asia and axe 1,000 jobs.

Mr Joyce was even accused of running the carrier into the ground while reaping massive personal rewards.