Alan Joyce threatened with jail time over Senate inquiry into Qatar Airways

Ex Qantas chief Alan Joyce has been warned of potentially dire consequences if he doesn’t face a government inquiry.

Alan Joyce could face the prospect of jail time if he fails to front a Senate inquiry into the blocking of extra flights from Qatar.

The former Qantas chief has been warned he will need to face the inquiry when he returns to Australia from a European vacation.

Coalition senator Bridget McKenzie warned Mr Joyce that he could face a “whole raft of processes” if he refuses to answer questions about the government’s decision to block a bid from Qatar Airways to introduce more flight into major Australian cities.

Alan Joyce has told the inquiry that he cannot attend as he is overseas. Picture NCA NewsWire / Aaron Francis

Mr Joyce has key information from conversations with prime minister Anthony Albanese and transport minister Catherine King about the decision.

“He is the only one that can go to conversations that he’s informally had with his bromance partner, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese and indeed Minister King,” Senator McKenzie told reporters on Thursday.

“There is a process within the standing orders and the procedures of the Senate, which will eventually make it very hard for former CEO Joyce to not appear.”

Senator McKenzie warned a person had been jailed in the 1950s for ignoring a summons order, but said she hoped “we don’t get there”.

Mr Joyce had told the inquiry that he could not attend either in person or via video link due to personal obligations while he was travelling overseas.

Senator Bridget McKenzie issued the stern warning on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka fronted the inquiry on Wednesday telling senators that she had spoken with the transport minister about the Qatari bid for “five minutes at best” during a one-hour meeting.

She said Ms King had told her Joyce was “not happy” about the Qatari bid and was seeking a meeting.

“Nonetheless, I was left with a very clear impression that the decision to proceed was very compelling and imminent. Based on this conversation, I felt comfortable that Qatar would be granted additional air rights,” Hrdlicka said.

Senator McKenzie also formally invited Ms King to front the inquiry.

The invitation comes as Coalition senators were left exasperated after senior transport bureaucrats, who appeared before the inquiry on Thursday, were essentially “gagged” from answering “critical” questions about whether Qantas had been a factor in the decision.

Their demands came after the public servants told the inquiry that Ms King – who is on leave – was handed a brief from the transport and infrastructure department about the Qatari application in January but did not make a decision until July.

Senator Simon Birmingham and Senator Bridget McKenzie have vowed to bring Alan Joyce and Catherine King before the committee. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator McKenzie said the evidence presented to the inquiry suggested Ms King was, in January, “of a mind to approve those additional flights from Qatar”.

“Something changed, and that brief sat on minister King’s desk until July. For six months, no further consultations were done with affected parties, no information was sought by the department,” Senator McKenzie said in a press conference.

“The government is shroud of secrecy around this decision, and the fact that it has gagged hardworking public servants from providing evidence to a public inquiry so that the Australian travelling public can understand why they made this decision is unconscionable.

“There are three people who can provide that level information about Qantas’s involvement – the Transport Minister, the Prime Minister, and former CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce.”

Originally published as Alan Joyce threatened with jail time over Senate inquiry into Qatar Airways