Qantas planes due to return to the skies

Grounded Qantas planes are expected to be back in the skies in the coming hours after a ruling by an Australian employment tribunal.

The airline and unions have been ordered to halt all industrial action and go back to negotiations after Qantas bosses grounded their entire global fleet, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

Government minister Bill Shorten said: “We are pleased that after 24 hours of turmoil common sense will be restored to the aviation (and) tourism sectors of Australia. We believe now that Qantas and the unions should focus – and we trust that they will focus – on getting flying as soon as they possibly can.”

But it is expected to be some time before services get back to normal, with a huge backlog of stranded travellers.

Both sides now have 21 days to resolve their dispute over pay and conditions, otherwise binding arbitration may be imposed.

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