QANTAS AIRWAYS lost its challenge to a court ruling today that the Australian company had illegally fired 1,700 baggage handlers, cleaners and other ground staff at the height of pandemic travel disruptions.

Seven High Court judges unanimously rejected Qantas’s appeal against a Federal Court full-bench decision, upholding the judge’s previous ruling.

The ruling is another major blow for the airline, which Australia’s consumer watchdog is suing for more than AU$250 million (£129m) for allegedly selling thousands of tickets last year for flights that had already been cancelled.

It prompted Qantas former chief executive Alan Joyce to retire last week two months ahead of schedule.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) had waged a two-year court battle against Qantas’s decision to outsource the jobs of the airline’s highly unionised ground staff.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said Qantas had been found guilty of the largest number of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history.

The company now faces fines and claims for compensation. An earlier court decision ruled out dismissed staff being reinstated.

Mr Kaine called on new chief executive Vanessa Hudson to offer the former staff an apology and compensation.

“The action that you can take immediately is to hurry back before the Federal Court now and do everything you can to expedite compensation for the workers so that they can get some justice and solace for themselves and their families,” he said.

Qantas said in a statement it accepted the court’s ruling.

The centre-left Labour Party government criticised the former conservative government for supporting Qantas illegally shedding jobs as a justified commercial decision.

The Sydney-based airline last month posted a record profit for the fiscal year ending June 30, following years of losses due to the pandemic.