Qatar's air authority has hit out at Qantas for "negatively lobbying" against the Gulf state's national carrier's bid for extra flights into Australia.
A parliamentary committee is examining the government's decision to knock back Qatar Airways' request for 28 additional flights into Australia on "national interest" grounds.
Transport Minister Madeline King has not elaborated on what the national interest was for denying the extra flights.
The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority took aim at Qantas for lobbying the government to block its bid in a submission made by the Qatari embassy in Australia on its behalf.
"Qantas has no reason for making such negative statements, except for the benefit of their commercial relationship with Emirates," it wrote in a November 2022 pitch to the government that was not for public circulation.
"Unfortunately, it is evident that both airlines are interested in blocking Qatar Airways' growth in Australia.
"The media allegations and negative lobbying against Qatar Airways do not reflect the strong relationship that Qatar Airways has developed with Australia."
Qatar Airways proposed flying the extra flights into Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.
It already had limited flights compared to Qantas' commercial partner Emirates, it noted in the submission to the committee inquiry.
Qatar's 28 flights compares to Emirates' 84 weekly flights and Etihad's 63, it said.
The airline said the expansion of flights could add more than $3 billion in economic benefits over five years.
"Increasing the capacity entitlements will not damage competition in the Australian market but would rather improve it for the benefit of the consumers," the submission says.
Outlining the help the airline provided Australia during COVID-19 and international crises, it added its air agreement was the most restrictive amongst Gulf states.
"We can confidently affirm, that no other country in the (Gulf Co-operation Council) region has included such strict conditions and requirements regarding fair competition in their bilateral agreement with Australia," the submission says.
The committee will hold further hearings in Brisbane on Tuesday and Canberra on Wednesday.
