In 2020, Gulf carrier Qatar Airways caused a stir when some female passengers were caught at security checks at Doha Airport (DOH). Five women went to court in Australia, but their lawsuits have now been dismissed.

On October 2, 2020, a newborn baby was found in a women's toilet at Doha City's Hamad Airport. This was left there. Among other things, female passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR908 were asked to leave the plane. At first, the 18 women were not told what it was actually about. In any case, this caused the departure to be delayed by around three hours.

Those affected claim that they were then subjected to a so-called invasive body search. This circumstance led to quite violent reactions all over the world. Five women took Qatar Airways to court in Australia. However, a district court dismissed the lawsuits.

The responsible district judge has decided that no claims can be asserted against Qatar Airways because the carrier neither ordered nor carried out the strip searches. In fact, these are said to have been initiated by the Qatari Interior Ministry as part of a police investigation. This was therefore a sovereign activity that cannot be blamed on the airline. This also means that the women can only sue the state of Qatar, but not the state airline.

The judge also rejected the plaintiffs' claim that Qatar Airways could have exerted influence. In the reasons for the judgment he writes, among other things, that it would be quite “imaginative” that airline employees could have intervened in the actions of the police in some way.

It will now be expensive for the five women because not only have they lost the lawsuit against the airline, but they also have to reimburse the airline for the legal costs. However, the judge pointed out that there is the possibility of taking legal action against the state of Qatar and/or the commissioned airport operator. It is still unclear whether the women will actually do this given the defeat suffered by Qatar Airways.