Qatar Airways Scandal Draws Wide Condemnation

Qatar Airways latest incident is still on fire since revealing the details of the shameful medical examination for women in Doha Airport, many international responses have been issued especially from New Zealand, Australia, and Britain.

The incident revolved around Female passengers who said they were subjected to a medically invasive exam to see if they had recently given birth after an abandoned newborn was found in an airport bathroom. The victims' nationalities are Australian, New Zealand, and British.

According to Sky News Arabia, Britain has officially protested against the latest incident as it was revealed that two British women were among the victims of the examinations while flying through Qatar in October.

The Qatari officials quickly responded following international reactions concerning passengers' safety and privacy. Therefore, Human rights activists describe such examinations as equivalent to sexual assault.

The Qatari government issued an apology through an official statement on Wednesday according to The Guardian.

“Those responsible for these violations and illegal actions have been referred to the public prosecution office,” the Qatari government said in a statement.

“This incident is the first of its kind at [the airport] which has served tens of millions of passengers without any issues like this before. What took place is wholly inconsistent with Qatar’s culture and values. Qatar is fully committed to the safety and security of all travelers.”

In the same context, the government of New Zealand has harshly rejected and condemned this incident as one of the victims was New Zealand.

“We were extremely concerned to learn ... that a New Zealand national was involved in the appalling incident involving female passengers on several Qatar Airways flights,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement late Thursday.

“This action was completely unacceptable. We are making our views known to Qatari authorities and are seeking a full report on what occurred.”

Following a diplomatic outrage, the government of Qatar said it “regrets any distress or infringement on the personal freedom of any traveler” following a decision to conduct intensive body examinations of women transiting through Doha international airport, in what it said was an “urgently-decided search” to find the mother of an abandoned baby.

Earlier, the Australian government confirmed that 18 women on a flight from Doha to Sydney were subjected to the compulsory medical examination, including 13 Australian citizens. It added that passengers from 10 flights leaving Doha on the evening of 2 October were affected.