Bilateral Air Services Agreements

Question

1. On what date was the settlement reached between Qatar Airways and the operators of Hamad International Airport and five Australian women searched by Qatar authorities on 2 October 2020? 2. On what date did the Department learn the case had been settled? 3. How was the Department first informed of the settlement? 4. What contact has the Department had with either the five women or representatives of the five women this year? 5. On what dates this year has the Department been party to discussions with the Minister or the Minister's office on the case initiated by the five women? 6. Has the Department provided any briefs, talking points or other information updates to the Minister or her office on the progress of the legal case initiatedby the five women? On what date did the Department inform the Minister the legal action had been settled? 7. On what date did the Minister approve the bilateral air services agreement providing Qatar Airways with seven (7) additional weekly services to & from Sydney - one per day - from Western Sydney International Airport? 8. On what date did the Department submit the brief to the Minister recommending approval for seven additional Sydney services for Qatar Airways, to be operated from Western Sydney Airport? 9. Since 2024, has Qatar Airways requested additional services to and from Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane? If so, has that request been rejected or is it still under consideration? 10. Prior to last week's announcement of agreement for additional flights for Qatar Airways, and the United Arab Emirates as well, the Government approved additional services for Latvia, Rwanda, and Mongolia. What assessments of economic benefit to Australia, especially to our tourism industry, did the Government undertake to support approving these nations ahead of Qatar and the UAE? 11. Can the Department provide a full list of countries currently with unresolved requests for additional air services to Australia's major airports?

Answer

Please see attached PDF.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000736.pdf (opens in a new tab)