Qantas Resumes Flights

Qantas flights resumed earlier today following approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

Fair Work Australia granted the Australian Government?s application to terminate all industrial action by the Australian Licenced Engineers Union, the Transport Workers Union, the Australian and International Pilots Union and Qantas.

Under the orders issued by Fair Work Australia, there will now be up to 21 days of negotiations between the parties. No industrial action can take place during this period. If no agreement is reached during this period, binding arbitration will take place under the control of Fair Work Australia.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the decision would provide certainty for Qantas passengers and all of our employees.

?This is a good outcome that will enable us to begin operating flights this afternoon on a limited schedule with the approval of the regulator, CASA,? Mr Joyce said. ?Operations will resume progressively from this afternoon. Our focus is bringing our schedule back to normal as soon as possible. Safety will remain our first priority at all times ... The industrial process has now passed into the hands of the independent umpire. All parties will be treated equally and we will respect the decisions that are made. We have new and existing agreements with 12 unions. We now anticipate the conclusion of agreements with the remaining three.

 This has been a challenging period for Qantas, its employees, its customers and its shareholders. We sincerely regret the impact on customers of industrial action over recent months, and the effect on employees.?

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy welcomed the decision by Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action and allow Qantas to resume international and domestic operations.

?This is a breakthrough for Australian tourism - an industry which generates $250 million a day in spending for our economy,? Mr McEvoy said. ?The decision provides certainty for tourism operators and, most importantly for the tourism industry, allowing Qantas to progressively resume flights. ?Australian tourism is open for business and we need to ensure whatever existing damage to our industry can now be minimised.

?There will be a backlog to clear, in particular from our international markets. Interestingly, we have become very good at clearing backlogs given recent issues such as the volcanic ash cloud and should see normal service start to resume within the next 24 hours,? he said.

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