Court unfairly ‘shut out’ Qatar strip-search case, lawyer argues

Lawyers for the Australian women who experienced a “traumatising” ordeal at Doha Airport said the Federal Court should be “troubled” by the fact the original case was tossed based on Qatar Airways’ evidence. The Federal Court was told five Australian women left traumatised over strip-searches and physically invasive examinations at Doha in October 2020 have been “shut out of their trial despite having identified very serious questions” that should be tried at hearing. After a baby was found abandoned in an airport bin, the women were directed off the Qatar Airways flight to Sydney, led down to ambulances parked under the aircraft, and subjected to searches by a woman who their lawyers could not confidently confirm was a nurse. The women claimed men carrying guns met them in the terminal, barely anyone spoke English, and no one official told them what was happening. While what came next was referred to as an examination in court, their lawyer said this was a “lessening of more than it deserves”. In 2021, a claim for alleged unlawful physical contact and false imprisonment was filed against Qatar Airways, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, and airport operations company MATAR, but their case was tossed out by Justice John Halley before it reached trial. In his April 2024 decision, Justice Halley said Qatar Airways could not be held responsible under the Montreal Convention, which governs an airline’s liability in the event of a passenger’s death or injury. Appearing for the five women on Monday, 24 March, barrister Christopher Ward SC said were it not for Justice Halley’s false interpretation of the Montreal Convention, the court “would have found a duty of care was owed by Qatar Airways to the applicants”.<br/>