Qatar Airwayswhich is said “surprised and shocked” by the federal government’s decision to reject its request for additional international flights to Australia made its case to an Australian Senate inquiry into the airline industry air transport in Australia.
Its senior vice president of global sales, Matt Raos, said the company “couldn’t understand why” his initial request for additional flights had been rejected. “What is even more surprising is that the government has not given us any reason to reject our application”did he declare.
Qatar also said it learned of the rejection of the request from the media and not from the government. Recall that it was the conservative opposition in Australia that accused the Labor Party of suppressing competition to protect Qantas and launched a Senate inquiry into this decision. In fact, thethe Federal Minister of Transport, Catherine King, had rejected an offer to Qatar Airways to introduce 28 additional weekly flights to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on the same day she signed a letter to Australian women undergoing gynecological examination following the discovery of a newborn abandoned in the toilet of an airport terminal. Doha airport. Catherine King then declared three weeks ago that the examinations carried out had been a factor in her refusal decision in July. In response, a A senior Qatar Airways official told the Australian Senate on Wednesday that there would be no repeat of the 2020 incident.
Mr. Raos added that Qatar Airways and the State of Qatar were “ a friend and ally of Australia for 40 years”, adding that the airline currently generates $3 billion in economic benefits for Australia and would generate $3 billion more if the flight application is successful. The Senior Vice President said Qatar had been “there for Australia” in bad times and good, particularly highlighting airline operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. “When other airlines turned their backs on Australia, Australians turned on us during COVID. The Australian government has asked us to help Australians return home,” he said in his opening speech to the inquiry.
