Archive · 24 Jul 2025
Australian Women Allowed to Sue Qatar Airways Over Airport Searches
A group of Australian women are now allowed to sue Qatar Airways.
This is because they were made to undergo body searches without their permission at an airport in Doha, Qatar.
The searches happened in 2020 after a baby was found in a bathroom.
Authorities were trying to find the baby's mother.
The women were taken off a plane headed to Sydney.
The court decided the women have a strong case.
This is bad news for Qatar Airways, which has a business in Australia.
The next steps in the legal case are not yet clear, and could set a precedent for the responsibility of airlines.
Australian women can sue Qatar Airways after invasive searches at Doha airport.
The incident occurred after a newborn baby was found in an airport bathroom.
Female passengers on a flight to Sydney were ordered off the plane for examinations.
The Federal Court of Australia ruled the women's claims could proceed to trial.
The ruling is a setback for Qatar Airways, which owns part of Virgin Australia.
- Who
- Australian women and Qatar Airways.
- What
- Australian women can sue Qatar Airways after intrusive body searches.
- When
- The searches occurred on October 2, 2020. The ruling was published Thursday.
- Where
- Doha airport in Qatar.
- Why
- To identify the mother of a newborn baby found in an airport bathroom.
- Airline
- Qatar Airways
- Location
- Doha Airport, Qatar
- Date of Incident
- October 2, 2020
- Court
- Federal Court of Australia
- Reason for Searches
- Finding the mother of an abandoned infant