Acting premier Steven Miles says the Queensland government supports additional Qatar Airways flights.Credit:AFR
Miles said he shared the sentiments of Graham Turner,head of the Queensland-based Flight Centre empire,who has begun taking out full-page newspaper advertisements with the tagline “Let ’em fly”.
“It’s a decision that rests entirely with the Australian government,and we will leave them to make their decisions,” Miles said.
“But,as I’ve indicated,the Queensland government would like to see as many flights as possible because those arriving passengers deliver economic activity here,and that creates jobs and prosperity.”
The application from Qatar Airways received broad support from the tourism and aviation sectors because additional flights would put downward pressure – as much as 40 per cent,according to Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka – on sky-high ticket prices.
But for reasons it did not fully explain,the federal government sided with Qantas and rejected the bid on grounds of “national interest”.
Allan Fels,former head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,last week wrote that the decision appeared to“prioritise the profits of a private company over cost to consumers”.