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Qantas’ plans to restart international flights on 31 October were dealt a new blow on Monday after Prime Minister Scott Morrison played down a previous pledge to vaccinate all Australians by the end of the year. PM Morrison said on Facebook it was “not possible” to set targets due to the “many uncertainties involved”. The announcement is significant because Qantas’ chief executive, Alan Joyce, has long maintained he will only allow passengers on long-haul international flights if they have received a COVID vaccine. “The government has also not set, nor has any plans to set, any new targets for completing first doses,” PM Morrison said. “We will just get on with the job of working together to produce, distribute and administer the vaccines as safely and efficiently as possible.”<br/>

The TWU has publicly accused Qantas of telling ground handling companies not to hire its redundant workers. Qantas said in response that it “completely rejects” the claims and has actively attempted to facilitate introductions to help its former staff. The union made the statement hours before it begins a landmark Federal Court case where it will attempt to force the airline to rehire more than 2,000 employees whose roles were outsourced earlier this year. Both Qantas and Jetstar removed ground handling operations this year at the Australian airports where the work was done in-house, which included Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, shifting them to businesses including Swissport and dnata. Speaking outside the Federal Court in Sydney this morning, TWU national secretary Michael Kaine accused the airline of sabotaging redundant employees’ chances of finding work at the companies that won the contracts.<br/>