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More than 7000 passengers have been affected by a snap grounding of Qantas's domestic and international fleet this afternoon, including all Qantas flights in and out of Perth's two airports.
Flights were cancelled at 2pm WST, and all passengers booked to fly with the airline have been asked not to travel to the Perth domestic or international airports.
It is not known what effect the action will have on CHOGM delegates who had booked to fly out of Perth today ahead of the meeting's official close tomorrow.
Qantas will lock out all its employees covered by the agreements that are currently in dispute.
"We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told a press conference today.
"This course of action has been forced upon us ... by the actions of three unions," Mr Joyce said.
"The ball is in their court.
"They have to decide how badly they want to hurt Qantas.
"We will provide full refunds to those who choose to cancel their flights."
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was extremely concerned about the future of Qantas, its workforce, and also the travelling public. He said Qantas's actions were a breach of faith.
Mr Albanese said the government was informed by Qantas of its decision mid-afternoon and the government would be making an application to Fair Work Australia over the dispute aimed at both actions by the unions and Qantas management.
Mr Joyce said his hand had been tipped by the impossible demands of the three unions.
"They are trashing our strategy and our brand," he said.
"They are deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight."
If the industrial action continued, Qantas would have no choice but to shut down its business "part by part", the chief executive said.
He believed the lock out and grounding of the fleet was the only effective avenue at his disposal to bring about a solution to the dispute.
Mr Joyce said he was sorry the course of action had become necessary but the ball was now in the unions' court.
"They must decide just how badly they want to hurt Qantas, their members ... and the travelling public," he said.
A Qantas spokesman said the airline’s executive and its board would not be paid during the lockout.
The airline will offer hotel accommodation and alternative flights to those who are mid-journey and cannot get home when the grounding takes effect.
There will be refunds and ticket transfers available to passengers whose flights are cancelled.
Qantas will keep passengers updated on the situation via its website, Facebook page and Twitter.
The lockout will begin at 8pm AEDT on Monday.
The airline said at 5pm AEDT today there were 64 aircraft in the air - 36 domestic and 28 international - carrying more than 7000 passengers.
These aircraft will complete the sectors they are operating and will then be grounded.
In total 108 aircraft will be grounded in 22 airports around the world.
The airline said 13,305 passengers were booked to travel on Qantas planes from overseas ports to Australia in the next 24 hours.
About 1310 international passengers may be at international airports now waiting for their flights to depart.
AAP with Alexandra Back
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