The boss of the Australian Airports Association James Goodwin has told the senate select committee into the rejection of Qatar Airways the decision should be reviewed and was not in the interest of airports.
Qatar Airways applied last year to double its flights to Australia’s four biggest airports which was expected to generate millions of dollars in additional tourism revenue and had broad support from the aviation industry, with the exception of Qantas. The decision was rejected by the government in July.
“[The decision] was not in the Australian interest of airport consumers,” Goodwin said.
Australian Airports Association chief executive James Goodwin has told the senate the decision to reject Qatar Airways’ application should be reviewed. Credit: Bloomberg
“Australia is a long way away from the rest of the world. And it makes sense to have as many carriers with open skies to be able to get more carriers into and out of Australia. That’s good for Australians wanting to visit family and friends. It’s good for inbound tourism and it’s also good for freight exports as well,” he said.
Airlines can fly to and from Australia under one of two government agreements known as bilateral air service rights or open skies agreements. The majority of approval decisions, including the one on Qatar Airways, are governed by the former, which give airlines two chances a year to apply for more services into Australia’s biggest airports.
