‘Ghost flights’: Qatar Airways flying near-empty planes in Australia to exploit legal loophole
0#Ghost #flights #Qatar
Qatar Airways flies nearly empty and sometimes completely empty large passenger jets between Melbourne and Adelaide every day take advantage of a loophole that allows it to take extra flights Australia. It would be contrary to Australia's "national interests". The Qatari government-owned airline is currently limited 28 flights per week to Australia's four major airports and allows one return flight from Doha each of these cities once a day. However, under the current bilateral agreement, there is no limit on how many services Qatar can offer to its non-major airports. In November 2022, Qatar Airways launched a second daily, nonstop flight between Doha and Melbourne, but the destination and port of departure in Australia were registered as Adelaide. Flying 354-seat Boeing 777-300ers between Melbourne and Adelaide means the airline does not exceed 28 weekly flights to major airports that are allowed to operate under current bilateral agreement. However, under Australian aviation law, the airline is not allowed to sell tickets to domestic passengers between Melbourne and Adelaide. It can carry only a few international passengers booked into Doha, who choose the two-leg route instead of a daily separate, non-stop flight between Adelaide and Doha, which is also operated by Qatar Airways. Qatar QR988 arrives in Melbourne from Doha every night at 1130 PM, where almost all passengers get off. to Doha. Confirmed by the Guardian's analysis of government flight data and by sources familiar with the flights. This flight sometimes carries no passengers at all. Outbound QR989 Adelaide - Melbourne service has become slightly more popular with Adelaide passengers - with an average of 20 to 35 passengers on this flight, according to analysis. Qatar Airways' separate, nonstop flight between Doha and Adelaide as part of its Auckland-Doha service is a much more popular option among Adelaide passengers, according to government data. Qatar Airways previously operated a second daily service between Doha and Sydney, using the same legal option to extend the last port to Canberra. While flights with a secondary port can encourage global airlines to better serve smaller cities in Australia, multiple sources said the QR988 and QR989 tariffs have led to the aviation industry's view that they primarily function as second-day Melbourne services. It was such a case that when Qatar Airways launched flights in November, it was not selling tickets to international passengers on the Melbourne-Adelaide route during the first weeks of service. The overnight stay was originally more than 11 hours. Fed up with Qatar's exploitation of gap, infrastructure transport ministry mandated tariff approval that "these flights on this route must be available sale for passengers and cargo to from Adelaide," said Catherine King, spokesperson transport minister. The spokesperson said the department is constantly monitoring Qatar Airways sales to ensure "this condition is met by the airline". An in