21 Oct 2011

Tourism sector hurting in airline dispute

8:59 am on 21 October 2011

Flight Centre says the Qantas dispute is starting to hurt the tourism industry in Australia and it is time for the federal government to intervene.

Five hundred flights have been cancelled and seven aircraft taken out of service so far.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner says the dispute is creating huge problems for the tourism sector.

But federal transport minister Anthony Albanese says it is still too early for the government to intervene and appealed to the airline and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association to quickly settle the matter.

He said both sides need to be more flexible and apply a common sense approach to reach a deal.

The ABC reports both parties were in negotiations with Fair Work Australia on Thursday. However, more than a dozen previous conciliation attempts have failed.