Qantas is to pay a A$100m (£53m) penalty and A$20m in compensation to passengers to settle a legal battle over tickets it sold for cancelled flights. The fine from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the biggest ever for an Australian airline and among the largest globally in the sector. The ACCC sued Qantas last summer, claiming the carrier broke consumer law when it sold tickets to more than 8,000 flights without disclosing they had been cancelled. In one particular case, Qantas kept selling tickets for a Sydney to San Francisco flight for 40 days after it had been cancelled, the regulator said. Gina Cass-Gottlieb, chair of the ACCC, said “Qantas’ conduct was egregious and unacceptable”. She added: “Many consumers will have made holiday, business and travel plans after booking on a phantom flight that had been cancelled. “We expect that this penalty, if accepted by the Court, will send a strong deterrence message to other companies. “Importantly, it demonstrates that we take action to ensure that companies operating in Australia communicate clearly, accurately and honestly with their customers at all times.” Qantas’s “ghost flight” debacle fuelled a national scandal about the performance of Australia’s flag carrier. Customer...