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The decision by Australian airline Qantas to ground its entire fleet because of a long-running labour dispute has left thousands of passengers stranded around the globe.
The move was announced by Qantas boss Alan Joyce.
SOUNDBITE: Alan Joyce, Qantas Chief Executive Officer, saying (English):
"This is a crisis for Qantas. If the action continues as the unions have promised, we will have no choice but to close down Qantas part by part."
Anger was the immediate reaction of many passengers stranded at Australia's Perth Airport.
SOUNDBITE: Zoe Johnson, Australian living in Switzerland, saying (English):
"I'm proudly Australian but it just leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. So many people say 'I'm never going to fly Qantas again' and from my point of view it just feels like a bullying tactic really."
SOUNDBITE: British tourist Lynn Gray saying (English):
"They just sort of said 'unfortunately flights, internal and domestic and international, are cancelled so sort yourselves out, bye.'"
The airline's cancelled more than 600 flights.
An estimated 70, 000 passengers are affected.
Qantas says it's responding to a dispute with its workforce from pilots through to caterers who've staged strikes since September over pay and cost cutting plans.
The announcement appears to have taken the government by surprise.
Australia's transport minister says the government will step in.
SOUNDBITE: Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese saying (English):
"I would hope that the parties to the dispute act like adults, and acknowledge that there is a common interest here between Qantas management and its employees."
In a further twist Qantas has also said it would lock out all its employees from Monday evening.
Paul Chapman, Reuters
