The ACT government is lobbying the Commonwealth to insist that Qatar Airways keeps flying to Canberra in the face of repeated delays by the Middle Eastern carrier on resuming the route.
Before the pandemic, it was possible to get direct flights from Canberra to and from the airline's hub in Doha, and then on to big European and Asian destinations.
The route put Canberra on the international flight map. It meant that Canberra passengers didn't have to transit in Sydney or Melbourne, carting baggage through customs in the big airports rather than in Canberra.
