Qantas claims to have been able to minimise the impact of strike action with fewer than 30 domestic flights in Australia cancelled.
International services have continued to operate normally and no QantasLink or Jetstar services were affected by the action. The carrier had warned that more than 6,000 passengers would be affected by the industrial action taken by the Transport Workers Union in a row over pay.
Qantas said that nearly 80% of domestic flights departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time during the strike. “More than 14,200 customers were able to get to their destinations as planned,” the airline said.
“Despite the delays and cancellations we were forced to put in place due to the industrial action taken by the Transport Workers Union, disruption to our customers was minimal.”
The union has withdrawn work bans it had imposed on staff over the next 48 hours. “We hope this signals their desire to return to the negotiating table,” Qantas said.