Australia agrees to clear-the-air talks with Qatar over controversial airline decision

Exclusive: Comes after heated Senate inquiry hearings told application for extra flights by the Gulf had been unfairly rejected"

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Australian bureaucrats will schedule a meeting with Qatari officials to discuss the Albanese government's controversial decision to reject Qatar Airways' request to almost double its flight operations to Australia.

Senate inquiry hearings this week revealed that the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) - which lodged the request for an additional 28 weekly flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - had requested consultations with the Australian department of infrastructure and transport.

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