Qantas Accused of Selling Non-Existent Flights

Qantas Airways is embroiled in a scandal after court documents revealed it misled nearly one million passengers by selling tickets for tens of thousands of flights that had already been cancelled. Between May 2022 and May 2024, the airline sold tickets for 71,000 cancelled flights, affecting 884,000 customers who were not promptly informed of the cancellations. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought the case, resulting in Qantas agreeing to pay AU$120 million ($82 million) in fines and compensation. Senior managers at Qantas were aware of the ticketing issues, although no single individual had full knowledge of the situation. The scandal led to the resignation of CEO Alan Joyce and raised questions about the airline's operational integrity. Vanessa Hudson, who became CEO in September 2023, has since indicated that the airline has updated its systems to prevent such issues in the future.