A group of Australian women strip-searched after boarding a Qatar Airways flight in Doha secured a court victory on Thursday, clearing the way for them to sue the airline.
The women were among those subjected to invasive gynaecological exams in 2020 after Qatari authorities removed female passengers from 10 planes while searching for the mother of a newborn baby found abandoned in an airport bathroom.
Five of the Australian women later filed legal action against Qatar Airways, alleging assault and false imprisonment.
Although Australia’s Federal Court initially ruled they could not sue the airline directly, that decision was overturned on appeal Thursday. A panel of three judges found that the case should proceed to trial.
The incident sparked international outrage and led the Australian government to cite the treatment of the women as a key reason for rejecting Qatar Airways’ bid to expand flights into the country.
At the time, Qatar’s then-prime minister, Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, issued a public apology, expressing his “sincerest apologies for what some female travellers went through.”
