Qatar Airlines has taken a swipe at Qantas after they applied to double the number of current flights into Australia.

Akbar Al Baker said on Sky News the airline had been applying to the Australian authorities for a long time and continuously had their application blocked.

But he hopes the “Government realises the commitment of Qatar airlines at difficult times”.

Qatar submitted the application for more flights to Australian cities to the federal government last week and Qantas replied to a government request for feedback on the proposal.

Qantas is attempting to quash the submission, claiming it would be unfair and could risk Australian jobs.

What it means

This could mean big things for Qatar Airlines if their application is accepted. If approved, Qatar would operate 14 A350 aircraft on the Doha-Sydney-Doha route daily, as well as seven A380 aircraft per week on the Doha-Melbourne-Doha route.

This would essentially double their current flights into Australia and give them a much larger footprint in the country.

If Qatar is allowed to increase their number of flights, it could put even more downward pressure on Qantas’ already struggling business. In its response to the government’s request for feedback, Qantas stated that “allowing additional direct services from Qatar at this time would risk Australian jobs”.

It remains to be seen how this will all shake out, but it seems clear that there is a lot at stake for both airlines.