Aviation

A Boeing Defence instructor who was sacked for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination has won an unfair dismissal case, with the Fair Work Commission finding it was “harsh and unreasonable” for Boeing to fire him while he was in the running for another role at the company.

Qantas has won its application to the High Court to appeal a Full Federal Court finding that it breached the Fair Work Act when it outsourced the work of its ground crew during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Virgin Australia’s insurers may be dragged into a class action accusing the airline of failing to disclose its true financial position in a 2019 prospectus for a $324 million capital raising.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently “not satisfied” that the public benefits from allowing Virgin and Alliance to continue to cooperate in markets for fly-in fly-out customers will outweigh its competition concerns. 

Airservices Australia has succeeded in overturning a “manifestly unreasonable” $72,450 fine, but otherwise failed in its appeal of a decision which found it breached an enterprise agreement by withdrawing guidelines for standby shifts for air traffic controllers.

The applicant in an investor class action against Virgin Australia plans to appeal a judge’s decision requiring litigation funder Balance Legal Capital UK to give the airline an indemnity in order to bring the proceedings, saying the indemnity “substantially changes the risk calculus” for group members.

A judge has ruled that a litigation funder for an investor class action against Virgin must give the airline an indemnity to bring proceedings despite finding a deed of company arrangement requiring the pay-out “didn’t make sense”.

The operator of Perth Airport has sued government-owned Airservices Australia for allegedly contaminating the airport’s groundwater, which flows into the Swan River, through the use of toxic firefighting foam.

The ACCC has raised concerns that Qantas’ proposed acquisition of Brisbane-based regional airline Alliance Aviation Services could harm competition in the market for flights for fly-in, fly-out workers.

Virgin Airlines has argued a litigation funder’s indemnity for its legal costs is not enough for it to bring a class action on behalf of bond holders over a 2019 prospectus, claiming the airline expects to spend more than $5 million defending the proceedings.