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Australia says Qatar Airways flight curbs due in part to strip-searches of women at Doha airport, denies Qantas link
- Transport Minister Catherine King cites the 2020 incident as a reason to stop Qatar Airways from selling more flights to Australia
- The explanation comes after the conservative opposition accuses the Australian government of protecting Qantas Airways from competition
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Australia said a strip-search of women at Qatar’s main airport in 2020 played a part in its decision this year to stop Qatar Airways from selling more flights to Australia, denying it was acting due to pressure from rival Qantas Airways.
The claim brings a new element to a controversy surrounding the Australian Labor government’s relationship with Qantas which had lobbied against a Qatar Airways request to increase its flights.
The conservative opposition has accused Labor of suppressing competition to protect Qantas and launched a Senate inquiry into its decision.
Speaking to reporters in Canberra on Thursday, Australian Transport Minister Catherine King said invasive body searches of female passengers, including five Australian women, at Hamad International Airport in 2020 was “context” for the decision to deny the airline more flights to Australia in July this year.
“It wasn’t the only factor. It was a factor,” King said, referring to the incident where women were taken off a Qatar Airways plane and forced to undergo medical examination after the discovery of an abandoned baby at the airport. The Qatar government later apologised.
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