Qantas Airline Grounded
Entire Fleet
Disrupting Air Travel
Across the Globe
Causing Woes
For Cruise Passengers
A surprise grounding of all Qantas flights on Saturday caused a nearly 48 hour disruption of service in Australia, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Flights resumed after an Australian court ruled on the bitter labor dispute which prompted the walk-out.
The Australian government called an emergency court hearing on Saturday night to end the work bans for the sake of the national economy. There had been no advance warning of the labor action.
Qantas is the largest of Australia's four national domestic airlines, and the grounding affected 108 planes in 22 countries. About 70,000 passengers fly Qantas daily, and would-be fliers this weekend were stuck at home, hotels or airports, or even had to suddenly deplane when Qantas suspended operations. More than 60 flights were in the air at the time but continued to their destinations, and Qantas was paying for passengers to book other flights according to the airline.
Cruise Passengers Scrambling
Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America all have ships sailing in the region and are evaluating the situation. Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas is scheduled to sail from Perth, Australia, on Monday evening, meaning that many passengers are likely scrambling to make alternate travel arrangements.
It will be 24 to 48 hours before Qantas returns to normal. See the following link for Latest information about resumption of scheduled Qantas services.
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This weekend alone, insurance companies, like Travel Guard, were helping stranded passengers due to Tropical Storm Rina, the snowstorms on the East Coast, and this Qantas strike. And those are only the ones that made front page news. The most common excuse I hear for not purchasing insurance is "I don't need it, I plan to go no matter what." As you can see from these examples, you aren't always in control.
