A extremely controversial incident during which a minimum of 13 girls have been subjected to compelled strip searches and vaginal exams at Doha Hamad Worldwide Airport in Qatar whereas travelling to Sydney in October 2020 was one of many the reason why Qatar Airways has been denied further touchdown rights in Australia.
Australian Transport Minister Catherine King advised reporters on Thursday that the strip search incident supplied “context” for why she rejected an utility by Qatar Airways to realize larger entry to Australia’s 4 largest worldwide airports.
The degrading October 2, 2020, incident occurred after Doha airport cleaners discovered a prematurely born child deserted in a restroom within the terminal. Police have been known as, and a number of other flights on which the mom might have been on have been recognized.
A type of flights was Qatar Airways flight QR908 from Doha to Sydney. After passengers had boarded the aircraft, cabin crew known as girls of childbearing age off the aircraft and handed them over to native officers.
They have been led one after the other into an ambulance that was ready on the tarmac beside the aircraft, the place they have been advised to strip bare so {that a} nurse might conduct an invasive vaginal examination to detect indicators of current delivery. The perpetrator was not onboard.
The incident precipitated uproar in Australia, and politicians condemned the Qatari authorities for subjecting its residents to such degrading remedy.
On Thursday, King mentioned the October 2020 incident was one in every of a number of the reason why the Australian authorities had rejected a bid by Qatar Airways to realize further touchdown and takeoff slots.
Below a bilateral flying companies settlement between Qatar and Australia, Qatar Airways is at present permitted to function as much as 28 weekly flights between its Doha hub and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Qatar Airways had hoped to extend that quota by 21 further weekly flights however the utility was shortly rebuffed by King.
Critics have claimed that King was influenced by lobbying from Australian flag provider Qantas, which fears competitors from Qatar Airways will drive down massively inflated airfares.
King mentioned it was “nonsense” that giving Qatar Airways larger entry to the Australian market would assist decrease fares, regardless of a discovering from regulators that elevated competitors would do precisely this.
Qatar Airways continued to serve Australia at a big loss all through the pandemic within the hope that it will win assist from politicians and the general public for larger entry to the market as soon as border restrictions have been lifted.
The strip search incident is now recognized to have massively hindered the airline’s plans for Australia.
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