THOUSANDS of stranded Qantas passengers still face another 48 hours wait to get home as the airline scrambles to clear its backlog of flights.
Almost 100,000 Qantas passengers were stuck around the world for up to two days after the national carrier grounded its fleet on Saturday, the Herald Sun reported.
Hundreds of passengers still stuck in Los Angeles have been told to wait at the airport for what could be hours to try their luck on getting a seat back home to Australia, the ABC reported. One Australian said the airline had given him a list of flights leaving later today but was told there was no guarantee he'd get home to Queensland.
Some travellers were told the first guaranteed flight out of LA for them was not until on November 12.
Did Qantas go too far? Tell us below
Meanwhile passengers stuck in the US were being diverted to flights through Europe and the Middle East, adding at least a day to their return journey.
A Qantas spokeswoman last night said some passengers would not return home until late tomorrow, with the airline estimating it would take 48 hours to get all its passengers on rescheduled flights. However it estimates the backlog of domestic passengers will be cleared by early this afternoon.
Flight QF41 from Sydney to Jakarta was the first international service to leave at 3.41pm yesterday, while the first domestic flight, QF438, took off from Melbourne bound for Sydney at 3.58pm.
A Fair Work Australia tribunal hearing at 2am yesterday ordered Qantas and unions terminate all industrial action, forcing the airline back into the sky and ending the torment for frustrated passengers.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce apologised to customers.
"We very much regret the inconvenience and stress that has been caused by this action," Mr Joyce said.
"We will be doing all that we can to put things right."
He said the FWA ruling created certainty for passengers and for shareholders, who saw Qantas shares rally to $1.61 at yesterday's close up 4.4 per cent.
"I think my determination to make sure we didn't capitulate to the unions' demands, that we were building a stronger and better Qantas, was the right decision for Qantas," Mr Joyce said.
But a defiant Mr Joyce vowed to push ahead with his plan for expanding into Asia, the Courier-Mail reported.
He said Qantas could now get on with its plan to establish an Asian airline staffed by an Asian workforce.
"I'm absolutely confident that nothing that will come through the negotiations will restrict us in setting up an Asian carrier," he said.
Unions have campaigned rigorously against the move to Asia and are seeking assurances from Qantas that members' jobs will not be sent offshore and only Qantas pilots will fly Qantas planes.
But Mr Joyce claimed profits from the new premium airline and a "Jetstar Japan" would secure jobs in Australia.
"This will be great for all Australian jobs and for tourism in Australia," Mr Joyce said.
Qantas applied at 10.23am yesterday to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for permission to restart flights but had to answer several queries, delaying permission until 3.30pm.
There were cheers and applause from passengers when flights finally resumed late yesterday.
The first Qantas flight arrived in Melbourne at 5.35pm, with tired passengers relieved to be home.
Roxanne Walmsley, of Clarinda, said she was left stranded in Sydney after trying to return from a dream holiday in Brazil.
Ms Walmsley said she was "an emotional wreck" when at San Diego airport she heard about the grounding of the Qantas fleet.
Exhausted mum Ngaire Elwood could not wait to embrace her two boys as she touched down in Melbourne last night after a marathon trip from London spanning more than 48 hours.
Dr Elwood, from Mt Macedon, had been due to arrive at 6am yesterday from a conference in Rome, but was instead delayed 12 hours in Sydney waiting for a flight home.
She joined an influx of tired and relieved travellers who flooded Melbourne Airport's domestic arrivals terminal as QF443 from Sydney touched down.
Passengers praised the patience of Qantas staff while others took aim at Mr Joyce who said the airline would win back those customers.
"We will recover all market share of the corporate market and get it back where it needs to be for Qantas to continue to make profits on its domestic market," he said.
Refunds are available to passengers who had flights cancelled between Saturday and Wednesday.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
