http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/29/qantas-grounds-fleet-industrial-action
theguardian
Qantas grounds entire worldwide fleet
Hundreds of passengers left stranded at Heathrow after airline cancels all flights in protracted industrial dispute with unions
Alison Rourke in Sydney and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 29 October 2011 09.36 EDT
Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded at Heathrow airport after the Australian airline Qantas grounded its entire global fleet over a bitter industrial dispute that will cause chaos for 70,000 travellers worldwide.
A Qantas spokesman said it was cancelling all flights indefinitely until unions representing pilots, engineers and ground and catering staff reach an agreement with the airline over pay and conditions.
The airline has already cancelled 600 flights worldwide, including four due to take off from Heathrow in London on Saturday. The carrier plans to "lock out" all employees involved with industrial action from Monday evening. Staff will not be required to turn up at work and will not be paid.
The airline had been forced to reduce and reschedule flights for weeks because of a series of strikes over staff concerns that their jobs are being moved overseas. Domestic and international flights were halted at 5pm (6am GMT).
