Qantas accuses Canberra Airport of 'behaving badly'

The national carrier said that when it was negotiating a new deal in 2021, "Canberra Airport threatened to have Qantas charged with trespass if it continued to use the airport without agreeing to their standard conditions of use".

The accusation was put in the airline's submission to the government as it decides on aviation policy over the next two decades.

Qantas argues that airports in Australia have too much market power. Because they're too powerful, Qantas believes, the growth of the whole industry is slowed down. It thinks Canberra Airport is a monopoly which is "behaving badly".

It is trying to persuade the government that airports need more regulation because of their alleged monopoly power.

The 2021 dispute was eventually resolved but Qantas executives remain annoyed at the way it played out.

When an old agreement runs out, they believe the usual practice is to keep going on the old terms until a new deal is reached and then settle the difference between the old and the new - but in this case, the airport gave the airline the ultimatum: sign now or get charged as trespassers.

Qantas is trying to persuade the government to have more regulation so arbitrators resolve disputes between airports and airlines. Virgin Australia has also argued for a better way of resolving disputes between airports and airlines.

Canberra Airport is owned by the Capital Airport Group which bought it from the Commonwealth government when it was privatised in 1998.

The parent company, Capital Airport Group, was formed by Canberra businessman Terry Snow and his son, Stephen Byron, who is the airport's managing director.

Canberra Airport declined to comment on Qantas' allegations.

Earlier in the year, its head accused Qantas of abusing its own market power.

Mr Byron told a parliamentary committee that Qantas should be broken up. He cited what he called Qantas' "unlawful behaviour".

He said Qantas and Virgin controlled more than 95 per cent of the domestic airline market in Australia, with Qantas the bigger part of the duopoly.

The spat continues a line of disagreements.

Often it's been about cancellations of Qantas flights between Canberra and Sydney.

In 2018, the then chief executive of Qantas likened Canberra Airport to a gang of Somali pirates.

"Maybe the airport should be called 'The Canberra Pirates' because you wouldn't have this in Somalia," Alan Joyce said.

"You wouldn't have this in other parts of the world. It is unbelievably appalling behaviour."

Canberra Airport gave as good as it got: "Qantas doesn't like Canberra Airport calling them out on the cancellations," a spokeswoman said.

The year before, Canberra Airport parked a car behind a Qantas plane and asked for $18,000 before the plane and its 170 passengers could take off.

It was understood at the time, that Canberra Airport initially wanted the $18,000 paid immediately by credit card.

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This year, Mr Byron has criticised Qantas for the high number of flights it has cancelled between Sydney and Canberra. At one stage, it was the most cancelled Qantas route in Australia.

Since the departure of Alan Joyce as Qantas' chief executive, the airline has promised to improve its Canberra to Sydney service.

"We are particularly focused on bringing down cancellations on flights between Sydney and Canberra and the measures we have put in place over the past few months are helping," a spokesperson told The Canberra Times a month ago.

Mr Byron remained sceptical.