Qantas will resume flights by noon Monday after Fair Work Australia (FWA) ordered an end to its lockout and grounding of 108 planes that stranded 68,000 passengers worldwide since Saturday.

The FWA issued the order at 2 a.m. following a 15-hour marathon meeting in Melbourne. This will give Qantas and its workers 21 days to settle, and another 21-day extension period.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said commercial flights will resume by 2 p.m. He apologized to affected customers but said the FWA decision "has provided certainty for its passengers," according to ABC.net.au.

Workers have been staging strikes since September. Joyce wanted no more industrial actions and disruptions in operation, so he set a lockout on Monday and grounded the fleet.

The federal government asked the FWA to end the latest industrial dispute among Qantas and its workers, pilots and engineer unions on fears it will damage the economy. The Queensland government also appealed Sunday for an end to the labor dispute, citing its effect on the state's tourism industry.

The Australian Licensed Engineers Union, the Transport Workers Union and the Australian and International Pilots Union were seeking a pay raise, better working conditions and job security as Qantas plans to outsource many of their jobs to workers in Asia.