Headlines

Australian Women Win Right to Sue Qatar Airways Over Strip Searches

JUL 24 2025·Updated JUL 25 2025

Story

Above: A Qatar Airways Airbus A350 at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Italy on July 8, 2025. Image credit: Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images

The Facts

Five Australian women who were allegedly subjected to invasive strip searches without consent were granted the right to sue Qatar Airways following a court ruling on Thursday.
BBC News
Daily Mail
SBS News
The incident occurred in October 2020, when five women on a flight leaving Hamad International Airport for Sydney were ordered off the plane by Qatari officials who were searching for the mother of a newborn child found abandoned in a bathroom.
guardian
FOX News
The women originally launched legal proceedings against the airline, Qatar's Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) and the airport operator, MATAR, for damages in 2022, but these were dismissed by Justice John Halley last year.
Sejal Govindarao
BBC News
Reuters
Considering the women's appeal, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that the primary judge "erred in summarily dismissing the…claims" relating to Qatar Airways and MATAR, as the case was a "matter of some complexity" that was "not an issue apt to be decided at the stage of summary dismissal."
Federal Court of Australia
The US Sun
The Federal Court consequently set aside the primary judge's dismissal, ruling that the appellants may file amended pleadings, while ordering Qatar Airways and MATAR to cover the costs of the appeal.
Federal Court of Australia
Reuters
The Federal Court, however, upheld the primary judge's ruling dismissing the case against the QCAA, stating that the regulator's actions were not commercial and strictly "in pursuit of public functions of the State of Qatar," and therefore beyond Australian jurisdiction.
Federal Court of Australia
guardian

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The primary judge erred in dismissing the proceedings against Qatar Airways and MATAR. These are cases of considerable complexity that were not given the due diligence they deserved at the stage of summary dismissal. It is important, therefore, for the appellants to have their case settled in court.

Federal Court of Australia

Narrative B

The cases against Qatar Airways and MATAR are legally flawed. Neither the airline nor the airport operator was able to exert any control over the behavior of the Qatari authorities, who were conducting a local law enforcement operation. Since these actions are not commercial, they lie beyond Australian jurisdiction.