Qantas airline jets -- among the many belonging to the Australian carrier that will be remaining on the ground.<br/> The carrier has taken the almost unprecedented step of shutting down its entire fleet amid a bitter labour dispute with unions.<br/> The lockout, which began Saturday, is expected to affect 600 flights and some 70,000 passengers this weekend alone.<br/> Hundreds of people were stranded in airports across the world, their long-planned vacations poised to go up in smoke.<br/> SOUNDBITE (English) BRITISH PASSENGER, STEVE JOHNSON, SAYING:<br/> "Not very happy because it was the holiday of a lifetime for us and it cost us a lot of money. Our travel agents have told us we're probably best just to forget the holiday, get the money back and re-book from scratch again."<br/> Australia's prime minister has stepped into the dispute, referring the impasse to the national labour relations board - a move that could force an end to the shutdown.<br/> (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER JULIA GILLED SAYING:<br/> "The rapid escalation of this dispute today, what we are saying is a circumstance with this industrial dispute that could have implications for our national economy."<br/> Qantas employees, from pilots to caterers, have been taking strike actions since September.<br/> They're unhappy with their pay and the airline's plans to cut soaring costs.<br/> Andrew Raven, Reuters
