An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas a record A$90m (43m; $59m) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Australia's Transport Workers' Union said it welcomed the penalty, which is the largest imposed by a court for violations of industrial relations laws in the country's history.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said in the judgement that he wanted the fine to act as a "real deterrence" to other employers.

The airline said in a statement that it has agreed to pay the fine and that the ruling holds it accountable for actions that caused "real harm" to its employees.

"We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result," Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said.

"The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families."

The fine is the largest financial penalty issued to an Australian company under the Fair Work Act, which sets out rules for workers and employees.

Australia's biggest airline has faced a years-long legal battle over its decision in 2020 to outsource its ground operations staff, which it said was a necessary financial measure as the aviation industry came to a standstill during the pandemic.

Qantas was ordered by the court to pay A$50m of the penalty directly to the transport workers' union, which had sued the airline...

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