Qantas flys again but pressure on tourism continues

The Qantas fleet is back in the air this afternoon (31st October) after a ruling by Fair Work Australia (FWA) to terminate all industrial action against the airline.

Qantas expect to see limited flights back in operation this afternoon with services returning to normal by mid-week. International flights will have some backlog which they expect will clear by the end of this week.

A statement from the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) read "the industrial action against Qantas over the past months has highlighted for our industry how crucial it is to have an extensive and reliable national carrier for the success of Australiaï¾s tourism industry.

"The decision on Saturday of Qantas to ground its entire fleet, both domestic and international, threw not just the tourism industry, but the entire nation, into chaos. This was an unprecedented action by the airline brought on by the rolling industrial action of three unions over the past several months that has disrupted tens of thousands of passengers nationally with cancelled services and delayed schedules."

The statement continued "ATEC is pleased that the FWA decision ruled for a termination of the dispute as this will ensure an end to the industrial action on the part of both parties. Under the Fair Work Legislation, the parties have 21 days to resolve their dispute or compulsory arbitration will occur.

"What is particularly relevant in this ruling is the impact the dispute was having on the national economy and tourism was noted as being under particular pressure in this instance."

Over recent weeks, ATEC has been extremely active in the media ensuring the interests of the inbound sector were front and centre during this crisis.

The key outcome of the FWA decision is that no further industrial action or disruption to services can occur. Importantly for travellers the order removes uncertainty about future schedules.

Qantas and the unions involved in the dispute now have 21 days to negotiate a settlement.

If, after that period (21st November), there is no resolution to the dispute the FWA termination ruling can be extended for another 21 days (again without any interruptions to services). If the dispute is not settled after the second 21 day period Fair Work Australia will move to compulsory arbitration. All parties will be required to abide by the decisions made by FWA.

Click here to view the full FWA decision.