Passengers were issued earplugs instead of headsets, and sat in webbed slings instead of contour seats. The planes were noisy, lumbering Hercules transports designed to fly the unfriendly skies of enemy nations. But civilian passengers lucky enough to be winging it aboard military planes of the Royal Australian Air Force last week were hardly complaining. Australia's airline industry has been thrown into chaos by the resignation of all 1,640 pilots from the nation's three major domestic airlines. The walkout has threatened the booming tourist industry and grounded most flights in a country where some 250,000 people fly weekly.

The turbulence began when the pilots, who earn an average of $60,000 a year, asked for a 30% pay raise and direct negotiations with the domestic carriers, instead of the 6% set by an independent wage-fixing authority. The request was rejected by the airlines and the government, which supports the wage-fixing system as a curb against inflation. The government fears that any exception granted to pilots will set off a chain reaction among labor groups. If that happened, said Prime Minister Bob Hawke, "the economy would be buggered." Determined to stand his ground, Hawke has called in the air force. So far, however, the pilots have shown no inclination to settle for more down-to-earth wages.