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Qantas offers free flights to grounded passengers

Qantas Airways is giving free flights to people stranded when it grounded its fleet last weekend due to labor strife.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Qantas Airways is giving free flights to people stranded when it grounded its fleet last weekend due to labor strife.

The airline said Australians who were stranded can fly domestically or to New Zealand. Offers for overseas customers and frequent fliers will be announced later.

The Australia-based carrier stopped flying last weekend and initiated an employee lockout because it said rolling union strikes and other job actions were too disruptive. The unions worry an airline restructuring plan will move jobs overseas.

Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded. The free flights are on top of Qantas' assistance to them during the grounding.

A court stopped the work actions Monday and the airline resumed flying.

The world's 10th largest airline by passenger miles announced the offer Sunday on social media.