Qantas Airways | featured news

Australia's Qantas Airways said Wednesday it was temporarily grounding one of its A380 superjumbos after discovering dozens of hairline cracks in its wings during a maintenance inspection.

Qantas Airways could begin returning its grounded fleet to the skies as early a Monday after an Australian court intervened in a bitter labor dispute by ending strikes and canceling a staff lock out.

Qantas Airways grounded its global fleet Saturday, suddenly locking out striking workers after weeks of flight disruptions an executive said could close down the world's 10th largest airline piece by piece.

Qantas Airways said a four-hour strike planned for Tuesday by a union representing baggage handlers, ground staff and caterers will affect over 6,100 passengers due to flight cancellations and delays.

Qantas Airways Ltd. said Tuesday it plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs as part of a major shakeup of its international business that will include the launch of a new Asia-based airline. The flagship Australian carrier, which is struggling to offset losses from its international operations, will buy between 106 and 110 Airbus A320 aircraft, and retire older planes as part of the five-year plan.

A Qantas plane shuts down an engine and returns to Bangkok, the latest incident related to a Roll Royce engine.

A Qantas Airways flight carrying 199 passengers was forced to turn back to Sydney on Monday because of a technical problem, the airline said.