Court authorizes lawsuit against operator over forced gynecological exams at Qatar airport

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has dismissed a lawsuit by five women seeking compensation from Qatar Airways for invasive gynecological exams performed on passengers at Doha airport in 2020, but their lawsuit against the airline’s operator the airport continues.

The five people, whose identities were withheld by the courts, were among hundreds of women forcibly removed from airliners in Doha on October 2, 2020, as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn baby found thrown in a trash can at the terminal.

Thirteen women have been kicked off a flight to Sydney. Many reported being forced to submit to non-consensual gynecological or intimate physical examinations.

Federal Court Judge John Halley ruled on Wednesday that the women’s arguments against state-owned Qatar Airways did not comply with international airline accountability protocols.

“My conclusion that the exclusivity principle precludes the claimants from pursuing any action for damages against Qatar Airways is a comprehensive response to the claims the claimants seek to bring against Qatar Airways,” Halley said.

The judge also said the women’s lawsuit against the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority could not go ahead. However, the lawsuit against the Qatar Company for Airports Operation and Management (MATAR), the airport operator, may continue. MATAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Airways.

The women’s lawyer, Damian Sturzaker, said in a statement that his clients planned to appeal.

“We note, however, that the proceedings against the airport operator, MATAR, remain ongoing. Our clients’ determination to continue asserting their claims remains intact,” Sturzaker said. The case returns to court on May 10.

Australian Transport Minister Catherine King did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court’s decision on Thursday.

It revealed last year that passenger reviews were part of the reason it decided in June to refuse to allow Qatar Airways to increase its services to Australia.

Qatar Airways senior vice president Matt Raos told an Australian Senate inquiry in September that such passenger reviews would never happen again.

“We have not experienced anything like this before in our history and we are fully committed to ensuring that nothing like this happens again,” Raos told the committee.