The $90m penalty imposed on Qantas for its illegal outsourcing of ground crews is unlikely to trouble the airline financially, with savings already made from the decision eclipsing the cost of the long-running court ordeal.

The airline says it was not an official order and an employee has been told never to make the same mistake again.

The weekly 737 flights, which depart Brisbane on Saturdays and return from Koror on Sundays, began in December last year, with Qantas taking over from Nauru Airlines under contract with the Australian Government.

Federal Court judge Michael Lee’s frustration at the way Qantas defended an unlawful outsourcing case has boiled over in his final judgment, which imposed a record $90m fine against the airline, $50m of which will be paid to the Transport Workers Union.

Un juez multó el lunes a Qantas Airways con 90 millones de dólares australianos (59 millones de dólares) por despedir ilegalmente a más de

Qantas' $90m outsourcing fine saw investors reduce its market value, but the fall was offset somewhat by a global rally in airline stocks. The rest of the local share market finished flat and the Aussie dollar went up a touch.