QANTAS is officially back in the air, after Fair Work Australia ended the unprecedented two-day grounding of its aircraft sparked by a divisive industrial dispute.

REFRESH FOR LATEST UPDATES | ALL TIMES AEDT

One of the airline's A380 jets left Sydney without passengers in preparation for the resumption of full flight operations. Qantas then received final approval from air safety regulator CASA, paving the way for QF438 to take off out of Melbourne, bound for Sydney, shortly before 4pm.

However the airline will not by fully operational before Wednesday, with the initial focus being on the busy Sydney-Melbourne route.

Qantas grounded its entire domestic and international fleet on Saturday. It came in the middle of a bitter dispute with staff and stranded thousands of passengers in Australia and around the world.

Fair Work Australia announced at 2am it was terminating the industrial action after the Gillard Government took the matter before the tribunal.

QANTAS STATUS | VIRGIN AUSTRALIA | JETSTAR

9.49pm University of Sydney Workplace Research Centre director John Buchanan has warned Qantas' actions could lead to a "a growing drift of employer militancy".

"What we're seeing is more employers taking a more strident position on their right to manage unencumbered," Dr Buchanan told AAP.

"These people are setting the standards which then other employers look to as model behaviour. "It doesn't mean all employers are like this but you'd have to say this is the leading tendency."

8.00pm The PM has blamed Qantas for leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Australia and around the world, insisting the airline didn't need to take the "extreme" action of grounding its fleet.

Julia Gillard defended the government's actions and the industrial relations laws she drafted when she was workplace relations minister in the Rudd government.

"I do not believe that this extreme action should have been taken," Ms Gillard told parliament. "I do not believe that Qantas should have acted to leave tens of thousands of Australians stranded effectively without notice around Australia and in many parts of the world."

6.42pm Did you hear the one about the surgeon and the drummer? As people start getting to where they need to go - we hear from those affected most by the Qantas strikes, here.

6.30pm The backlog is starting to ease, but remember Qantas says it might take until Wednesday until things are back to normal. UK resident Cedric Clifford, who arrived in Sydney from Christchurch at 3.45pm (AEDT) aboard Qantas flight QF46, said he may think twice before flying with Qantas again (The Daily Telegraph).

"The man in the middle is the customer and the customer is easy to lose, but boy is he difficult to get back,'' said Mr Clifford, who is on a five-week holiday around Australia and New Zealand with his wife Margaret.

Qantas customer Valerieanne Byrnes bought a Jetstar ticket in Singapore, where she had flown from Paris, to get back home to Sydney.

"The unions have a lot to answer for. I'm sure there's mud on both sides,'' she said.

5.25pm Passengers are slowly getting to where they need to go as Qantas rolls out more domestic services. Meanwhile airline boss Alan Joyce says he's confident Qantas will recover its market share.

"I have every confidence that we will recover back to 65 per cent market share domestically. We will recover back to our international market share and, importantly, we'll recover our market share of the corporate market."

4.23pm Qantas is officially back in the air. The first Qantas domestic flight has left Melbourne Airport since Fair Work Australia ordered a termination of industrial action. Cheers were heard at gate two at the domestic terminal as the final boarding call was made for QF 438 to Sydney (AAP).

3.35pm The ACTU has welcomed Fair Work Australia's decision to return Qantas planes to the air and says the move put the airline's unprecedented tactics in the spotlight.



ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said it had substantiated union claims that the airline had been reckless in grounding its fleet and planning to lock out its employees:

"It recognises and actually substantiates what we were saying, that the potential harm to the Australian economy ... that required the Federal Government to act and required Fair Work Australia to make the decision that it made, was the action of Qantas and the action of Qantas alone.



"Alan Joyce has to take personal responsibility for this, to propose to lock out its workers, an action which was without precedent in Australian industrial history and without any justification when you compare it to the negotiation process that has been undertaken by unions."

3.30pm Keeping the first tiny Qantas fleet aloft was hard work, with parts falling off in mid-flight and an engine that kept boiling. Take a look back at where it all began for the Flying Kangaroo.

3.05pm Passengers who changed their travel destination, rescheduled flights or had them cancelled as a result of the Qantas fleet grounding are being offered re-booking and refund options.

The airline says customers can get a full refund on tickets valid between 5pm (AEDT) on Saturday and Wednesday if they bought them before the announcement that flights had been cancelled.

Refund requests must be submitted by January 31, Qantas says.

2.55pm How the sharemarkets react to big news can really be a mystery at times. What would be expected to be a bad day for airlines has turned out to be a great one.

Qantas shares have today flown in the face of earlier predictions. At noon shares in Qantas soared 10.5 cents, or 6.8 per cent, to $1.65. Rival airline Virgin Blue rose 2.5 cents, or 6.94 per cent, to 38.5 cents. Travel agent Flight Centre however descended 13 cents to $19.84.

IG Markets market analyst Cameron Peacock said:

"Qantas investors might view the order by Fair Work Australia as the catalyst for a turnaround in the ailing Qantas share price."

2.45pm Jetstar says it has assisted 3200 Qantas customers so far and added 10 extra services since yesterday. The airline added an extra seven domestic services to its schedule today - five between Melbourne and Sydney, one Melbourne to Perth and one Perth to Brisbane.

Jetstar will continue to offer unsold seats on existing flights at a discounted rate to Qantas passengers until 11.59pm on Wednesday. The discounted fares are only available at airport service desks.

2.25pm The consumer group Choice says Qantas should offer compensation to each of the 22,000 international passengers stranded by the snap grounding of Qantas planes.



Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn says Qantas breached its own customer charter by cancelling all its flights without notice on Saturday afternoon:

"While Qantas offers expenses for passengers already in transit, those yet to travel have been left hanging on for hours on call centre lines, with too many bereft of information or a helping hand...It's hardly as if a volcano is to blame for disruption. Qantas must have known the suffering this would cause and we hope the company will make generous amends to all affected, although money only goes so far."

2.15pm Qantas has warned it will not by fully operational before Wednesday, with the initial focus being on the busy Sydney-Melbourne route.

1.45pm The press conference finishes up. Prime Minister Julia Gillard defends the government's decision to intervene when it did. She insists the government has achieved its purpose of stopping industrial action at Qantas and got the planes back in the skies as soon as possible.

She says it’s now up to Qantas and unions to get around the table now to sort it out and they have 21 days to do so. If not, Fair Work Australia will step in and impose a decision on them.

Overall, a feeling of anger against Qantas' lack of notice about grounding their fleet has come through from the press conference.

Anthony Albanese said he found it ‘quite extraordinary’ when he received the notification from My Joyce on Saturday afternoon to inform him they were grounding all flights.



“I don’t normally disclose private meetings but I can confirm the fact I had three face-to-face meetings with Mr Joyce in the eight days prior to his announcement...it was my view that considerable progress was being made...I found it quite extraordinary when I received the notification that I did on Saturday afternoon."

1.32pm Anthony Albanese confirms Virgin Australia has put on 3,000 extra flights today as Qantas scrambles to get back in the air. CHECK YOUR FLIGHT DETAILS using the links above.

1.27pm Workplace Relations Minister Chris Evans echoed the PM's comments that there were other options available to Qantas. He said when he got the call from Alan Joyce letting him know they were grounding the entire fleet in three hours, he asked him had the circumstances changed to bring it to this stage – but Mr Joyce said it was their only option.



"When I pressed Mr Joyce whether or not there has been a change of circumstances, he was not able to answer that. But I pressed him as to why [he was resorting to this measure] - his answer was that it was the only option available to Qantas."

1.20pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard told a press conference the Government was blindsided by the airline's shock decision to ground flights and lock out its workers.

"We were advised around 2pm on Saturday that Qantas was grounding their flights at 5pm. That was the easliest advice we received. I do not accept that the extreme action Qantas took on Saturday was their only option."

1.16pm Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is allowing Qantas to position its planes ahead of flights. He said the Government was given no fore-warning by Qantas boss Alan Joyce that the entire Qantas fleet would be grounded.

"At no stage, at no stage, did Mr Joyce indicate the lock out of the workforce."

12.39pm Geoff Lemon writes in The Punch: Joyce's spin is pretty good.

"Where unions have to give 72 hours notice of any action, Joyce gave zero hours. He stranded 68,000 people worldwide, upended the plans of tens of thousands more, and lost an unquantifiable number of future bookings.



And why? To force an advantage in an industrial dispute that was nowhere near crisis point. To stand on a milk crate in a pissing contest. And he got just the elevation he was after."

12.38pm More fun quotes from Twitter now.

Reza Thaher tweets. "Dustin Hoffman was right in Rainman: Qantas doesn't crash. It just stopped flying.

12.29pm Some more information on flights from Qantas:



If you are booked on a flight that is scheduled to depart from Los Angeles on Sunday 30th or Monday 31 October (local time), please travel to the airport as normal. All flights are still subject to regulatory approval.



If your travel has been disrupted and you are in Los Angeles, Qantas will contact you once they have details of your flight. Qantas recommends you do not travel to the airport for a Qantas flight unless you have been advised to do so.



Customers departing on QF32 today from Singapore to Sydney today, Monday 31 October, please go to the airport to check in for your flight. All flights are still subject to regulatory approval.

12.08pm Qantas has been hounded once again for its robotic response to customers on social media during the crisis.

11.53am EtihadAirways will operate Abu-Dhabi-Bangkok-Sydney flights on 1, 2 and 3 November to help clear the Qantas backlog, subject to approval.

11.44am So did Qantas call the PM before taking the decision to ground the airline or didn't they? This morning Julia Gillard said Qantas had called her to say that newspaper reports that Alan Joyce tried to talk to the Prime Minister before the crisis were "misleading".

But now, the Daily Telegraph has released part of an email from Qantas group executive for Government and Corporate Affairs Olivia Wirth. The email confirms she called Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief of staff Ben Hubbard hours before Alan Joyce grounded Qantas.

“I spoke with various staffers (including PM CosS [sic] Ben Hubbard)," Mr Wirth writes. “In the conversations with Ministers, Alan indicated that we understood the PM was held up with chairing CHOGM, so it would be difficult to speak, however Alan would provide more details to the PM if required.”

11.38am Julia Gillard defended her decision not to use untested Government powers to end the Qantas strikes saying it would have prolonged the dispute.

11.03am The Transport Workers Union are considering an appeal against the Fair Work Australia ruling.National secretary Tony Sheldon says the union will announce its intentions in the next 48 hours.

11.02am It's early days yet in our poll for who came out the best in the Qantas crisis, but so far 65 per cent of news.com.au readers think the man of the moment is Alan Joyce.

11am Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill was not amused by the Qantas industrial action. He tweeted: "Dear Qantas, U suck".

10.42am Qantas shares have come online higher by 5.5 per cent. So the market at least seems to think that Qantas has made the right move. Interestingly, Virgin shares are up 8 per cent.

10.38am Qantas Head of Operations Alan Milne says a passenger who has a flight to Melbourne on Wednesday will be able to get there on their normal flight. If they have already cancelled their flight, they will be able to get a refund.

Mr Milne says 22,000 people are stuck overseas.

He hopes the backlog of domestic passengers will be able to be cleared by tomorrow.

10.26am So the dispute is over. Who won? And who's to blame? Read news.com.au editor Paul Colgan's analysis of the Qantas dispute and see if you agree.

10.30am And more from Alan Joyce:

“This is not anti-union, this is pro-Qantas.I will make any decisions that need to be made in order to ensure the survival of this company. It’s a pity that we have had to get to this state, but we will disrupt a lot less customers this way. We didn’t allow the strike to be prolonged and we didn’t allow hundreds of thousands of customers to be affected by the strike. “I think we put balance back into the negotiations. All the pain was being taken by Qantas. I’m hoping people can now sit down and have sensible decisions about what’s fair and what’s not fair. It is just because of the unreasonable demands of these staff that left us no choice but to do what we had to do.”

10.25am Joyce says customers can now make Christmas bookings with confidence because the unions can no longer take industrial action. He says the decision gives "certainly for the customers, certainly for employees".

"Agreement will be reached, there can no no more action. The clouds have gone, people can now move with confidence with Qantas."

10.19am Joyce says he rang all of Qantas' biggest customers and made personal apologies for the action.

10.18am Joyce says nearly every major CEO in the country has shown their support for Qantas's actions.

10.16am Joyce says the International Qantas business has been losing $200 million. He says he has a plan to turn the business around. He expects to get the business back to profitability in the next three years.

"We’re in a globalised world, Qantas need to get used to that. We need to get used to the fact that passengers aren’t paying the premiums they used to to fly Qantas and that’s why we’re losing 200 million dollars in international business."

10.13am Joyce says that a lock-out was his only option to get Fair Work Australia to look at the Qantas dispute. Without the lock out there would not have been a case to say the industrial action was hurting the economy.

“The dispute was costing 70, 000 passengers to be disrupted, costing 68 million dollars – the only response we had to that action was to take our own action and lockout staff. That was the only way we could bring this to a head.”

10am Alan Joyce says the Fair Work decision has given customers and shareholders certainty.

The risk assessment process has been completed and sent to CASA. Once approval has been given they will move to recommence both domestic and international services. Extra staff will be put on at the airport to assist services. Four international services will be added this afternoon.

He says the fleet will return to business as usual after the next 24 hours.

Joyce apologised to customers and said he was proud of the majority of Qantas staff who helped out during the crisis.

“I want to apologise to our customers, we very much regret the inconvenience and stress caused. We will be doing all that we can to put things right. This industrial dispute has honestly been a massive, consuming issue for Qantas management and operations. Now we can move on with certainty."

9.57am You might need headphones for this if you are in the office, but it's worth a listen. Sydney University Law Professor clearly explains what happened with the Fair Work tribunal. What it means for the future, why Julia Gillard didn't just make the ruling herself and why big companies are watching the Qantas decision eagerly.

9.32am The Transport Workers Union is claiming the Fair Work decision is a "slap in the face for Qantas".

9.23am @alanjoyce has received an apology from Qantas for the bollocking he's got on Twitter.

Earlier today he tweeted: "@QantasAirways has contacted me with a graceful apology. I should be thanking them for 300+ new followers :).

9.16am Greens leader Bob Brown says the actions of Qantas have been "heavy-handed and heartless".

9.07am Sarah Jessica Parker and reality TV stars Kim and Khloe Kardashian are just some of the celebrities caught up in the Qantas dramas.

8.54am Adele Ferguson argues in the SMH that the industrial relations battle has made Qantas a sitting duck for a takeover bid.

8.44am As the mud starts to fly, Alan Joyce told Macquarie Radio the only winners out of this situation are the Qantas customers.

"I don't think any side should be declaring victory, this is a victory for the Qantas customers. It gives certainty for the customers going forward, the unions can't take any more action. Qantas can't take any more action, that's gone, so our aircraft go back in the air." - Alan Joyce

8.42am Qantas is expected to hold a press conference at 10am where they will announce which flights will be leaving today.

8.31am So what now? Qantas and the unions have 21 days to come to an agreement. If they still can't decide then Fair Work Australia will decide for them.

Aviation analyst Neil Hansford says the Fair Work decision was "the most naive, unrealistic termination by an arbitration panel" he has seen in 60 years.

"This problem can't be solved in 21 days. Do you think they are going to achieve in 21 days what hasn't been achieved in 18 months?"

8.22am More than 300 rural doctors are stuck in Alice Springs due to the Qantas grounding. And they are not happy.

Dr Les Woollard, a GP from Moree in NSW told the ABC the situation was "unacceptable".

"If you're seriously ill in a small country town, we would come to your aid no matter what. We wouldn't worry about if there's an extra 5 per cent income, we would turn up on your door. I think for him (Alan Joyce) to do what he's done to 300 doctors in Alice Springs, to people stranded around the world, is appalling."

8.10am The first London - Sydney flight will leave Heathrow at 11.05pm on Monday night.

8.21am Cartoonists, at least, are having fun with the Qantas dispute. Here's one from Warren.

8.08am Qantas pilots say they believe Qantas will use the 21 days of negotiations to stonewall pilots. They defended their strike action saying all they did was wear non-regulation red ties and make in-flight announcements.

8.01am The first Qantas flight is expected to leave at 2pmtoday. No details yet on where that flight will leave from.

Alan Joyce says the airline will need to get safety approval from CASA this morning. If they get that the flights will be ramped up this afternoon. Qantas will not be operating on a normal schedule until tomorrow.

The Today Show reports that no flights will leave from LAX today.

7.57am Many Qantas passengers feel they were not adequately informed by Qantas over the weekend. They wished Qantas had contacted them and felt the only way they could get information was to check on the internet.

Qantas passenger Clair Hughes told the ABC:

I have just checked my frequent flyer profile and can confirm my mobile and email contact details are correct, so I find the lack of notification astounding.

7.34am Julia Gillard has slammed Qantas on Sunrise this morning saying their actions were "extreme".

"I believe that Qantas took an extreme approach on Saturday. It did that in circumstances where there were other options open to it." - Julia Gillard.

7.28am Alan Joyce has told the ABC's AM that it was only after the AGM that Qantas decided to ground the entire fleet. Joyce says it was the union's actions in that meeting that triggered his decision.

"They walked out of the meeting. They said that they were annoyed that the shareholders... talked about escalating," he said.



"That was the threshold moment that changed everything and it was only after the AGM that we saw that.



"I told the board I had made the decision then to take the only action available to use and that was to lock out the members responsible for the industrial action."

7.21am There may be more tears to be shed before the Qantas show is over. Malcolm Farr writes in The Punch, we’ve still got a long way to go before we get to the light at the end of the Qantas tunnel.

7.13am New Tiger Airways CEO Andrew David and Safety Manager Stuart Eaves reportedly gave up seats for angry Qantas passengers on Brisbane to Melbourne flight yesterday.

7.06am The Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Harcher says Qantas grounding exposes a failure of leadership on all sides. He says Qantas was wrong, the Prime Minister was extreme and the unions were unreasonable.

6.47am A great indication of how the Qantas strike has affected more than just the passengers due to fly came from Channel 7 this morning. A doctor told Seven news:

"I'm a cancer surgeon. I'm meant to be operating on cancer patients on Monday and I've just been told all flights are grounded."

6.23am Here's what you should do if you are booked to fly Qantas.

5.45am The Herald Sun is reporting many passengers face huge bills for new flights due to the Qantas flight grounding. Demand for flights was so high that only the most expensive fares were left.

More than 68,000 passengers remain stranded in cities ranging from Townsville to Buenos Aires.

Here's a link from Qantas for passengers to claim a refund.

5.46am Qantas Twitter feed says flights will be grounded until at least noon today.

5.35am Here's a photograph that we love this morning. The image says it all.

5.28am The ACTU says Fair Work Australia's decision shows Qantas' actions - not the unions - were causing harm to the Australian economy.

Monday October 31, 5.15am Morning. Alison Godfrey, picking up our live coverage of the Qantas grounding. In case you missed it, here's what happened overnight.

* Fair Work Australia ruled that all strike action of all three unions should be terminated.

* Qantas planes will be back in the air some time after noon today.

* The Unions and Qantas will now be forced into 21 days of negotiations.

* 68,000 people remain stuck in airports all around the world.

* Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the ruling provides certainty for passengers.

* The Federal Government is claiming victory saying the Fair Work Australia ruling was exactly what they were seeking.

3.05am That's it for our rolling coverage tonight. We'll pick it up again early in the morning and keep you up-to-date with the latest developments.

2.59am After almost 14 hours of evidence over two days Fair Work Australia, headed by Justice Geoffrey Giudice, found there was significant uncertainty arising from the protected action of the unions but in particular from the Qantas employee lock out and grounding of the fleet (AAP).

"We should do what we can to avoid significant damage to the tourism industry," Justice Giudice said.

2.35am Meanwhile, Qantas has blamed tired and stressed pilots for its decision to ground its aircraft and leave 68,000 passengers in limbo. The Daily Telegraph reveals a phone call from Alan Joyce to the Prime Minister on Saturday may have prevented the Qantas boss from grounding his entire fleet.

2.25am The decision is a win for Qantas and the Gillard Government. Minister Bill Shorten said:

"Fair Work Australia has upheld the application of the Gillard Government.We are conscious of the tens of thousands of travellers stranded in Australia and across the world. We were aware that the economy was at risk of great danger. We were aware that the industrial action between the unions and Qantas needed to come to a halt."

2.19am Fair Work Australia terminates all industrial action related to the Qantas lock-out amid a dispute between the airline and three unions.

1.15amThere's been a delay in the delivery of FWA's findings. An announcement was expected at 1am but judges are still locked in discussions.

12.51am Qantas CEO Alan Joyce would have abandoned his decision to ground the airline had Prime Minister Julia Gillard returned his call and promised to intervene directly in the union standoff. [The Daily Telegraph]

12.21am A decision will be announced at 1am, according to the Fair Work Australia tribunal. The three judges are currently deliberating following two nights of submissions.

12.05am Final submissions have finished and a 10-minute adjournment has been taken at the FWA hearing. It's been a long couple of nights and a decision is expected shortly. Sky News reports Qantas may be forced to back down from the action it took on Saturday, when it grounded its domestic and international fleets.

11.50pm ACTU offering its submission - the final submission of 12 parties at the Fair Work Australia emergency hearing. No confirmation yet on whether a decision will be made tonight, or whether the hearing will be adjourned until Monday.

10.16pm Final submissions are continuing at the FWA hearing. Meanwhile, in a reminder that this dispute is being felt worldwide, a British man has been stranded in Hong Kong with his wife on the way to visit their daughter in Australia. He says he's bitterly disappointed at how he's been treated by Qantas. Frank Ross said on their stop-off at Hong Kong passengers were told to disembark. [AAP]

"All Qantas staff disappeared without a trace at that point and we were left stranded in the airport," Mr Ross told the BBC. "We waited for information on the flight - at first we were told it was delayed."

9.40pm All 12 parties are offering their final submissions. A Qantas spokesperson said earlier:

"As soon as Fair Work Australia make a judgement we'll make a decision (on flights)."

9.16pm As thousands wait for the outcome of the emergency Fair Work Australia hearing, let's take a look at those on Twitter trying to see the lighter side of the dispute.

@FutureSirRileyThe longer the drama drags on, the more I appreciate the wonderful Irish accent of Alan Joyce @AndrewCoffeeWhat would happen if all the baristas decided to strike?

9.03pm The FWA hearing has reconvened.

8.20pmHearing adjourned until 8:45pm AEDT. Qantas has confirmed there will be no flights until at least midday tomorrow, should the FWA hearing resolve to terminate all industrial action.

8.03pm Qantas will not make any decisions on flights tomorrow until tomorrow morning, the airline reported on Twitter. Reports that Government is pushing for a termination.

@MattThompsonSENConfirmation fed government wants termination. If not, 120 day suspension, but termination preferred.

7.30pm Qantas still selling tickets for flights on Tuesday and Wednesday. Still no decision from FWA - five hours of cross-examination of Qantas witnesses by union lawyers. 300 doctors stranded at a rural medical conference in Alice Springs. Forbes maternity ward may have to close if they can't get out of central Australia. Eight flights cancelled from Heathrow, many international passengers are cancelling because they would be left stranded in places like Bangkok and Singapore. From LA ,many people are being forced to take a long detour through Seoul and Korea. Qantas passengers marooned in Bangkok, which is subject to a warning because of flooding. Customers queueing at Changi told all flights booked until Tuesday or Wednesday. A travel agent says 10's of thousands of people will not be able to get to Melbourne for the Cup. It's already reportedly cost the state millions of dollars. Travel advice is things are bad and liable to get worse. [source: AAP/ABC]

7.25pm Unions NSW will rally in support of Qantas workers at Sydney International Airport tomorrow. The rally will begin at 12.30pm (AEDT).

"The militant industrial tactics of Qantas deserve condemnation and equally, Qantas employees need to know that workers from across the entire economy support them," Unions NSW Secretary, Mark Lennon said. "We're organising this rally to demonstrate our disgust with this unprecedented act of industrial vandalism. Qantas employees can rest assured that the NSW trade union movement stands with them as they withstand this unjustified attack on their jobs and the national interest."

7.15pm Crisis declared in the tourism industry as the workplace law umpire continued a hearing on the Qantas lock-out.

7.12pm Air New Zealand's baggage handling and check-in services in Australia will be affected by Qantas's decision to lock out its staff tomorrow.

6.30pm As a second round of emergency hearings by Fair Work Australia (FWA) between Qantas and the unions dragged into their fourth hour this evening, a resolution still appeared to a be long way off.

6.15pm Greyhound Australia says its phone is ringing off the hook with passengers left stranded by Qantas's flight groundings seeking coach tickets.

5.40pm Special Fares for Stranded Passengers: Virgin Australia is offering special "Stranded Passenger" recovery fares for passengers who are at a port away from home and hold a Qantas ticket to return home within the next 5 days.

The fares are offered at a 20 per cent discount to available "Saver" fares on Virgin Australia and Pacific Blue flights, for travel through to Thursday, 3 November 2011, subject to availability. They are available via a dedicated web page: http://www.virginaustralia.com/qantasgrounding/

5.23pm More than 20,000 people have taken up Virgin's offer of discounted fares to stranded Qantas passengers.

"We have so far helped over 20,000 stranded Qantas passengers with the special discounted fare through the website," a Virgin Australia spokeswoman said. "Those were for passengers who were away from their home port, because there limited capacity ... and we want to make sure it is a priority to get them home."

She said Qantas was offering refunds of the difference between fares.

5.18pm Pilots believe a date on a Jetstar email shows Qantas was planning to freeze operations for some time - but Jetstar says that's "nonsense".

4pm The secretary of the international division of the Australian Flight Attendants' Association says it's not surprising the dispute between unions and Qantas has led to a lockout of workers.

"I had meetings with my members that finished about two weeks ago where I said that I expected that it would come to this ... I'm not quite sure why people are surprised," Michael Mijatov said.

3.35pm ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says she fully supports the Federal Government's attempt to end the long-running industrial dispute between Qantas and the unions.

3pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the Federal Government wants to bring the industrial action by Qantas and unions to an end.

"I believe Australians want to see this dispute settled, I want to see it settled," she said in Perth.

2.52pm Flight Centre says the Federal Government should have acted on the Qantas industrial relations dispute sooner, and has taken steps to assist thousands of travellers left stranded by the groundings.

2.48pm Factbox on Qantas dispute so far:



* Qantas domestic and international services remain grounded until future notice

* About 108 aircraft affected

* About 447 flights have been cancelled

* More than 68,000 customers affected since grounding at 5pm (AEDT) yesterday

* Jetstar and QantasLink still flying

* Jetstar capacity is very limited

* Express Freighters Australia, Atlas Freighters operating

* Jetconnect operated flights across the Tasman unaffected

* Virgin Australia is putting on extra services

* Virgin offering 3000 extra seats between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Karratha and Perth

* Virgin has 140,000 domestic seats available through to Sunday November 6

* Virgin alliance partners Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Delta Air in talks to put on extra flights on some international and domestic routes

* Fair Work Australia reconvened at 2pm to consider a Federal Government application to terminate or suspend the industrial dispute

* Qantas says it could be flying again within six hours depending on the outcome

* Unions involved are the Australian Licenced Engineers Union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Union (AIPA)

* PM will travel from Perth by government jet to get back to Canberra for this week's sitting of parliament

* PM staff won't be on that jet because seats needed for ministers, Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop and some MPs.

* Charter flights expected to be organised for other MPs.

* MPs like South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon and MP Bob Katter aren't sure they'll make it on time

* About 12,000 passengers travel through Canberra airport each day - 65 per cent on Qantas services

2.32pm Qantas' decision to ground its fleet is totally out of proportion to the bargaining the unions were involved in, the peak union body says.

1.12pm Unsold seats on Jetstar flights are being offered to Qantas passengers at discounted prices and the Qantas subsidiary says it's looking to add flights.

1.04pm The Transport Workers Union has slammed Qantas for launching a "pre-planned" attack and says there is no justification for Fair Work Australia to terminate industrial action by its members.

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon says:

"This was a preconceived, pre-planned attack on the Qantas brand by Qantas management. Obviously their intention is to offshore this airline overseas."

11.46am Here's a surprise - a union that supports Alan Joyce's actions. The Flight Attendants' Association of Australia says the dispute needed to be brought to a head.

"The dispute has been going on for months, and in terms of the people I represent, it's not in their interests to have a continuing unstable situation," Divisional secretary Michael Mijatov said.

"It terms of our members, it's a good thing that this be all wrapped up."

However, the Australian International Pilots Association (AIPA) is now looking into taking legal action against Qantas, describing the decision to ground the fleet as "insane" and possibly in breach of the Fair Work Act.

10.40am If you are thinking today's flight chaos is all down to Qantas and the unions, think again... the blame's spreading further than that.

Tony Abbott says: "The Government has been asleep at the wheel for weeks, they've been informed, but not alarmed, but nothing has happened in the meantime ... it's come to a catastrophic head for Australians."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says: "Blind Freddy could have seen that this was going to result in a worsening situation, which was going to damage national and state economies.

"What no one understands is why until last night the Gillard government ... was washing its hands, saying 'it had nothing to do with us'."

But government frontbencher Nicola Roxon says it's not up to the Government to fix the problems.

"There are two key players in this dispute. Qantas and their employees represented by their unions.

"We wish they'd been able to negotiate more maturely together to resolve this well and truly before this major inconvenience."

9.42am Virgin is offering discounted fares on 3000 extra seats to get stranded Qantas passengers where they need to be.

8.24am With all eyes on today's Fair Work Australia decision, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is pushing for a full termination of industrial action, saying a suspension may not see flights resume.

"A suspension may not necessarily mean the airline gets back in the air. A termination gives us certainty, a suspension, depending on what the suspension looks like, does not necessarily give us certainty."

8.04am Could this be the beginning of the end for Qantas? Terry McCrann examines whether the flying kangaroo can survive.

7.02am The man who brought Qantas to its knees after waging one of the most aggressive union campaigns in the history of disputes is also set to become the next ALP national president. Check out the Sunday Telegraph's look at the key figures in the Qantas dispute.

6.52am The human impact of the Qantas decision has been plain to see at airports around the country, with plans for holidays, weddings, operations, family reunions all thrown into chaos. For Katrina Roberts, the situation couldn't be worse though - she was trying to get to Cairns to see her dying father for one last time when flights were halted:

"I need to get up there pretty quick. Hopefully it's not too late when we eventually get there."

6.01am The immediate effects of the Qantas grounding:

At 5pm (AEDT) yesterday there were 64 aircraft in the air, 36 domestic and 28 international, carrying more than 7000 passengers.

Those aircraft completed the sectors they were operating in and were then grounded.

In total 108 aircraft will be grounded in 22 airports around the world.

13,305 passengers were booked to travel on Qantas planes from overseas ports to Australia between Saturday and Monday.

About 1310 international passengers due to fly on Saturday are thought to have been immediately affected.

Qantas says passengers will have their fares refunded or can change flights.

Jetstar, QantasLink and JetConnect are not affected.

Virgin Australia has added more flights; Greyhound have also put on more buses.

1.21am No decision has been made about restarting flights. Qantas is still grounded.

1.20am TWU says they want to see documents that allegedly show Qantas warned catering company Gate Gourmet about the lock out. Fair Work Australia said it will not give orders to produce the documents, but won't rule it out later today.

The unions are also calling for Alan Joyce to appear before the judges to answer questions about whether the action was premeditated or not.

Tomorrow the unions will be given the opportunity to cross examine the Qantas witnesses.

1.17am The hearing has been adjourned until 2pm today. No information yet on whether flights will resume before then.

1.05am Qantas witnesses have told Fair Work Australia judges that the strike action has affected their reputation. Forward bookings are down, people have lost confidence in Qantas and there was no other reason for the change but industrial action.

12.42pm Qantas' emergency number has apparently melted down.

12.36pm Hundreds of angry passengers are venting their frustration on Twitter.

Matt Hustwaite tweets: "I still call Australian Home ... because I can't fly out of the country thanks to #qantas.

12.16am It may be an all nighter at Fair Work Australia. The three judges have returned and they will hear Qantas' witnesses tonight. There are three witnesses who will each speak for half an hour. After that, the judges will again adjourn "for some hours". Tomorrow the union witnesses will take their turn.

Sadly, it does look like flights will not be off the ground tomorrow morning.

12.11am The Fair Work Australia meeting looks like it is about to start again. The engineers union is calling for a suspension of strike action, but Qantas wants all strike action cancelled completely.

12.10am Air France has cancelled one in five flights after the cabin crew go on strike. So if you were planning to fly to Paris today, you're in for double trouble.

11.45pm The Fair Work Australia meeting has stopped for an adjournment while the three panel members decide whether they will make a decision tonight or go to bed and resume tomorrow.

11.30pm The meeting at Fair Work Australia could go all night. Reports say there is a major dispute over whether the industrial action will be terminated or simply suspended.

10.44pm Spare a thought for Alan Joyce. No, not the Qantas CEO but the American student who uses the name @alanjoyce on Twitter. He's copping a load of abuse from angry passengers. But he's actually an American student. So be nice.

10.43pm Anyone whose visa status could be affected by the grounding of the Qantas fleet is urged to contact the Department of Immigration.

A spokesman for the department says there could be a number of people visiting Australia with visas due to expire in coming days.

The spokesman says this is especially relevant for people attending CHOGM in Perth.

Anyone concerned about their visa status should contact their local Department of Immigration office or call 131 881 during business hours.

10.41pm Coach transport provider Greyhound Australia has pledged to help clear the backlog of stranded travellers after Qantas announced the grounding of its fleet. The buses can be booked online and additional staff will be deployed to its telephone reservations centre from tomorrow

10.13pm Don't be too hard on Alan Joyce. Here's his view of why Qantas needs to be restructured. He says if the strikes continue, he will have no choice but to "kill Qantas slowly" because it will not survive in such a competitive global market.

10.12pm The Fair Work Australia meeting is now underway in Melbourne. Qantas is being represented by Freehills lawyers.

9.28pm Mal Farr says even if Qantas gets back in the air, the battle for control has only just begun.

9.24pm Julia Gillard says the strike could have implications for the national economy.

"I believe Australians want to see this sorted out, business wants to see it sorted out, passengers want to see it sorted out, I want to see it sorted out. That's why we have made the application to Fair Work Australia." "We need this dispute to be brought to an end."

9.23pm Qantas will fully refund any flights cancelled due to the industrial action. Customers can also rebook their flights for a later date.

Qantas passengers who booked flights through the website Expedia are urged to contact their call centre on 13 38 10 for immediate assistance.

8.22pm: AAP is reporting that there are 17 delegations from CHOGM stranded in Perth as a result of the Qantas action.

8.07pm:Here's another shot from Melbourne airport, showing passengers queueing for their baggage after staff checked it onto flights that were then summarily cancelled:

7.53pm: Fair Work Australia will hold a meeting at 10pm AEDT in Melbourne. Our understanding is that the hearing has the power to order a termination of industrial action, which would mean Qantas flies tomorrow.

7.44pm: #qantas is building moment on Twitter. The most reaction is trending against Qantas...and at least one tweeter has spotted another enemy:

7.31pm: Here's an FAQ on what to do if you were booked on a Qantas flight any time in the forseeable future...

7.26pm: Julia Gillard's office says the Prime Minister will hold a doorstop press conference at 9.10pm AEDT in Perth, after the end of the day's CHOGM meetings.

7.11pm: Duelling quotes: Alan Joyce says the grounding will go on "as long as it takes" to avert a "death by a thousand cuts". The pilots' union says Qantas is "holding a knife to the nation's throat".

6.56pm: Here's the full statement from Anthony Albanese. It's only three paragraphs long, but it's the only official government reaction at the moment. The Prime Minister is due to make a daily CHOGM press conference in two hours, if that schedule remains.

"The Government is extremely concerned for the future of Qantas, its workforce and also the travelling public. We will at all times be making sure that the travelling public’s interests are upheld in this. "We are very concerned about Qantas’ actions of which we were notified only mid afternoon. In light of Qantas’ announcement today regarding the grounding of its fleet, the Government is making an urgent application to Fair Work Australia under Section 424 of the Fair Work Act to terminate all industrial action at Qantas. We will be seeking an urgent hearing of that application by Fair Work Australia. "The provisions are there for mandatory conciliation. This will be aimed at both actions by unions and by Qantas management."

6.45pm: Qantas has urged that only passengers booked to fly in the next 24 hours call their customer hotline on 13 13 13. That is still estimated as being up to 13,000 people.

6.42pm: Here's the scene at Sydney airport, where staff are having to explain the surreal situation to customers yet to hear the news:

6.34pm: Virgin Australia has announced it is putting on special fares for Qantas passengers stranded by the grounding.

6.33pm: Qantas is making updated announcements via its Twitter page. It has told people not to bother going to airports tonight.

6.29pm: That was a very brief statement from Anthony Albanese, which gives an indication of how little notice the government received that something of this magnitude was going to happen. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is in Perth for the CHOGM summit and has yet to speak publicly.

6.26pm: And the damage control begins...a Qantas spokesperson has said the airline's executive and board will not be paid during the lockout.

5.58pm: Here's a quote from Anthony Albanese:

We will be making sure that the travelling public's interests are upheld. We are very concerned about Qantas's actions.

5.47pm: Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will make an application for the matter to be dealt with at an urgent hearing of Fair Work Australia. He has said the government received no advance notice of Qantas's plan.

5.34pm: As well as the obvious effect on rank and file Qantas passengers, there could be an international embarrassment in the making if this grounds dignitaries and heads of state at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth. And then there's the impact on the Melbourne Cup carnival.

5.29pm: There's an estimate that this action is going to cost Qantas $20 million a day. Here's the official announcement from Qantas.

5.27pm: The grounding means:

passengers in 12 planes at airport gates at the time of the announcement had to disembark;

at the time of the announcement had to disembark; 64 planes currently in the air, carrying 7000 passengers , are continuing to their destinations, but passengers with connecting flights will be grounded and given other accommodation;

currently in the air, carrying , are continuing to their destinations, but passengers with connecting flights will be grounded and given other accommodation; 108 planes at 22 airports are affected;

an estimated 13,000 passengers will be affected in the next 24 hours alone.

The lockout will begin at 8pm AEDT on Monday, but Mr Joyce has said to maintain safety standards meant the grounding had to be effective from "right now".

"We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us," Mr Joyce has told a press conference.

He has said overseas staff would not be affected by the lockout and would continue to be paid.

Mr Joyce said his hand had been tipped by the impossible demands of the three unions: the Transport Workers Union, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association and Australian and International Pilots Association.

"They are trashing our strategy and our brand," he said. "They are deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight."

In addition to pay rises, Qantas engineers, pilots and ground staff are protesting at management's plans to restructure the airline, with job losses of 1000 and a new non-Qantas branded offshoot to be based in Asia.

The unions claim the restructure amounted to off-shoring pilots, engineers and catering jobs. Qantas management reject this.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association secretary Steve Purvinas warned industrial action could extend until the middle of next year.

Mr Joyce warned yesterday that half the airline would "be gone" within a year - with tens of thousands of jobs potentially at risk - if unions pursued their industrial campaign for that long.

"f it goes for more than a year, we estimate we will have to shut down half of Qantas operations. That's 50 per cent of Qantas, gone."

