Qantas Offers Federal Court In Flight Meal Vouchers After Being Fined $90M For Illegally Sacking Workers

EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | Contact

Qantas has been fined $90 million for illegally firing over 1800 staff members during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and outsourcing the roles to contractors to prevent workers from being able to take protected industrial action.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee delivered the verdict on Monday, stating that the penalty must “bear some resemblance” to the maximum $121 million – and should be no less than $90 million, with $50 million of the penalty to be paid to the Transport Workers Union.

This comes after Qantas tried to negotiate a mid-range fine of $40-$80 million.

It is unknown until a later hearing whether the remaining $40 million will be paid to the workers, although Qantas is now offering to reimburse the rest of the costs with flight credits (for non-capital cities on mid-week flights) and in-flight meal vouchers (snacks only) which is to be considered.

Vanessa Hudson, the current Qantas CEO who took over the role from Alan Joyce in 2023, said in statement today: “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result”.

Hudson added that the airline has “worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers”.

Qantas is also currently pacing off a $100 million penalty incurred in 2024, after misleading customers by selling thousands of tickets for cancelled flights.

As of 2025, Qantas has also cancelled more flights than any other airline – even Jetstar.

More to come.