Behind the "ghost flights" of Qatar Airways in Australia

Qatar Airways is now allowed to operate 28 flights per week to four major Australian airports. Photo: Reuters

Qatar Airways is reportedly operating near-empty passenger planes between Melbourne and Adelaide to avoid restrictions on the number of flights to major Australian airports. These “ghost flights” are sometimes empty, according to The Guardian.

With this, Qatar Airways exploited a loophole that allowed them to fly extra jets to Australia.

What is "Ghost Flight"?

"Ghost flight" is a term used to describe an aircraft operating with less than 10% passenger capacity to perform its flight duties.

According to The Hindu, a 1993 European Union (EU) regulation requires European airlines to fly empty or near-empty jets to reserve take-off and landing slots.

However, “ghost flights” have come under scrutiny globally due to the aviation industry’s large carbon emissions contributing to the climate crisis.

Qatar Airways "ghost flight" in Australia

Qatar Airways is currently licensed to operate 28 flights per week to four major Australian airports in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, and is currently operating one return flight per day from Qatar's capital Doha to these four cities.

According to Simple Flying, under the current bilateral agreement, there is no limit on the number of flights operated by the Qatari government- owned airline to smaller airports, such as Adelaide.

Last November, Qatar Airways launched the Doha - Melbourne - Adelaide - Melbourne - Doha (QR988/989) route.

Qatar Airways has exploited a loophole that allows it to fly extra jets to Australia. Photo: Reuters

According to The Guardian, Qatar Airways began daily direct flights between Doha and Melbourne in November last year, but “Adelaide is registered as a destination and departure point in Australia.” This means the flight’s destination from Doha is Adelaide, with a stopover in Melbourne.

However, Qatar Airways is not allowed to sell domestic tickets between Melbourne and Adelaide, so these flights are only available to international passengers booking from Doha.

According to the British newspaper, Qatar Airways flight QR988 from Doha arrives in Melbourne at 11.30pm every night. But those booked to Adelaide must transit for six hours at the international terminal of Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. This is a result of the curfew at Adelaide Airport from 11pm to 6am.

Flight QR989 departs Adelaide Airport at 11.40am each day and lands in Melbourne within two hours. Passengers travelling from Melbourne have a shorter layover before the direct flight to Doha takes off, The Guardian reports.

According to the British newspaper, flight QR988 from Melbourne to Adelaide with an overnight stopover had passengers in the single digits and sometimes even no passengers.

Notably, according to Simple Flying, Qatar Airways also has a daily direct flight between Doha and Adelaide, before flying to Auckland.

Qatar Airways has previously used a similar loophole to fly a second daily flight between Doha and Sydney by continuing flights to Canberra.

Qatar Airways denied additional flights

The Australian government recently rejected a request from Qatar Airways to operate 21 additional flights to major airports, citing “national interest considerations.” Some have argued that the decision largely benefits Australian airline Qantas.

Greg Bamber, a professor at Monash University in Australia and co-author of the aviation book “Up in the Air,” told Daily Mail Australia: “I think it’s outrageous that the government has stopped them (Qatar) from doing that, because we have to buy international airfares at exorbitant prices from Qantas.”

Some say the Australian Government's decision not to allow Qatar Airways to operate additional flights has benefited Qantas. Photo: Reuters

According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), banning Qatar Airways from adding flights could cost Australia more than $500 million in tourism revenue each year.

Some in the aviation industry have expressed anger at Qatar Airways for flying near-empty planes from Adelaide to Melbourne. One told the AFR: “It just shows that government regulations are not fit for purpose if Qatar Airways is exploiting loopholes to get tourists here.”

“The real purpose is to get to Melbourne… I mean they didn’t even sell tickets [to Adelaide] for the first few weeks,” one airline insider told The Guardian.

“They (Qatar Airways) have made the (Australian aviation) industry and law uncomfortable.”

Australian government defends decision

Speaking before the Australian Parliament on August 9, the country's Transport Minister Catherine King said that Qatar's request was rejected to protect national interests.

“The government has determined that it is not in our national interest to agree to the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority’s (QCAA) request for additional services and we will always consider the need to ensure Australians have long-term, well-paid and safe jobs in the aviation industry when we make these decisions,” AFR quoted Ms King as saying.

However, Sydney Morning Herald business columnist Elizabeth Knight argues that allowing more flights from Qatar to Australia would create more jobs. “It makes sense to allow Qatar to provide more services, as economists such as Tony Webber have estimated that doing so would generate half a billion dollars in additional tourism revenue and thousands of jobs,” she writes.

James Goodwin, CEO of the Australian Airports Authority, told the AFR that more flights would boost tourism. “More flights to Australia will mean more jobs in tourism and aviation. That’s something we should all be working towards,” Goodwin said.