Qantas grounds global fleet over labour strikes

At least 60 Qantas flights were in the air and continued to their destinations,and at least one taxiing flight stopped on the runway. Among the stranded passengers are the 17 world leaders attending a Commonwealth summit in the western city of Perth.

When the grounding was announced,36 international and 28 domestic Australian flights were in the air,said a Qantas spokeswoman. She could not confirm an Australian Broadcasting Corp TV report that 13,305 passengers were booked to fly Qantas international flights within 24 hours of the grounding.

Bookings already had collapsed after unions warned travellers to book with other airlines through the Christmas-New Year period. Booked passengers were being rescheduled at Qantas expense,chief executive Alan Joyce said. He told a news conference in Sydney that the unions actions have caused a crisis for Qantas.

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

All 108 aircraft in 22 countries will be grounded until unions representing pilots,mechanics,baggage handlers and caterers reach agreements with Qantas over pay and conditions,Joyce said.

We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us, Joyce said,referring shutting staff out of their work stations.

If the action continues as the unions have promised,we will have no choice but to close down Qantas part by part, he added.

Staff will not be paid starting Monday,and Joyce estimated the grounding will cost the airline $20 million a day. It already had reduced and rescheduled flights for weeks.