Approving more Qatar Airways flights to Australia would go against ‘national interest’, government says
The Australian government has said that approving Qatar Airways’s push to increase flights to the country would go against Australia’s “national interest”, as seats on international flights remain scarce and expensive. The Albanese government has in recent weeks defended its decision to reject a request from Qatar to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights. International air fares remain stubbornly high as demand for seats from travel-hungry Australians outstrips supply, and industry leaders have claimed allowing Qatar more capacity would have helped lower air fares. While carriers including Qantas and other global giants are posting record profits, for many the number of seats and flights they can offer remain constrained, partly due to aircraft orders, workforce shortages and strong demand in other continents. However, Qatar Airways has been one of few airlines in a position to operate increased services to Australia. The transport minister, Catherine King, initially denied suggestions that her decision to reject the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority’s request was related to ongoing legal action launched by multiple Australian women against the authority and Qatar Airways. The women are seeking damages over an October 2020 incident in which they were forcibly removed from aeroplanes at gunpoint in Doha and some were intimately examined as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned in a plastic bag in the departures lounge at Hamad international airport. While many in the aviation and tourism industries as well as state premiers supported Qatar’s plans to increase services, opponents included Qantas as well as the women behind the legal case. The women wrote to King in June expressing concern at the prospect of Qatar Airways being granted additional landing rights. In a letter responding to them in early July, King said “as most Australians were, I was shocked by what happened to you”.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-03/oneworld/approving-more-qatar-airways-flights-to-australia-would-go-against-2018national-interest2019-government-says
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Approving more Qatar Airways flights to Australia would go against ‘national interest’, government says
The Australian government has said that approving Qatar Airways’s push to increase flights to the country would go against Australia’s “national interest”, as seats on international flights remain scarce and expensive. The Albanese government has in recent weeks defended its decision to reject a request from Qatar to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights. International air fares remain stubbornly high as demand for seats from travel-hungry Australians outstrips supply, and industry leaders have claimed allowing Qatar more capacity would have helped lower air fares. While carriers including Qantas and other global giants are posting record profits, for many the number of seats and flights they can offer remain constrained, partly due to aircraft orders, workforce shortages and strong demand in other continents. However, Qatar Airways has been one of few airlines in a position to operate increased services to Australia. The transport minister, Catherine King, initially denied suggestions that her decision to reject the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority’s request was related to ongoing legal action launched by multiple Australian women against the authority and Qatar Airways. The women are seeking damages over an October 2020 incident in which they were forcibly removed from aeroplanes at gunpoint in Doha and some were intimately examined as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned in a plastic bag in the departures lounge at Hamad international airport. While many in the aviation and tourism industries as well as state premiers supported Qatar’s plans to increase services, opponents included Qantas as well as the women behind the legal case. The women wrote to King in June expressing concern at the prospect of Qatar Airways being granted additional landing rights. In a letter responding to them in early July, King said “as most Australians were, I was shocked by what happened to you”.<br/>
