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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay Transport and urban affairs reporter

Approving more Qatar Airways flights to Australia would go against ‘national interest’, government says

Qatar Airways Boeing 777 plane as it lands at an airport
Air transport industry leaders have claimed allowing Qatar Airways more capacity would have helped lower air fares. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Rex/Shutterstock

The Australian government has said that approving Qatar Airways’s push to increase flights to the country would go against Australia’s “national interest”, as seats on international flights remain scarce and expensive.

The Albanese government has in recent weeks defended its decision to reject a request from Qatar to fly an additional 21 services into Australia’s major airports, beyond the 28 flights a week it currently operates under existing bilateral air rights.

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