Australian competition regulator has taken Qantas Airways to court, alleging the flagship carrier in mid-2022 kept selling tickets for more than 8,000 cancelled flights for an average of over two weeks after the flights were called off.

Also, for more than 10,000 flights scheduled between May and July last year, Qantas did not notify existing ticketholders that their flights had been cancelled for an average of 18 days, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged in a statement on Thursday.

"We have commenced these proceedings alleging that Qantas continued selling tickets for thousands of cancelled flights, likely affecting the travel plans of tens of thousands of people," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

Airlines may cancel flights in the short term due to a range of unforeseeable reasons including bad weather, aircraft defects and delays from previous flights, the regulator said, adding that cancellations also happen due to a slew of factors within an airline's control.

"However, this case does not involve any alleged breach in relation to the actual cancellation of flights, but rather relates to Qantas' conduct after it had cancelled the flights."

ACCC said it would pursue orders including penalties, injunctions, declarations, and costs against the airline for its conduct after flight cancellations.

The combined market share of Qantas Group, which includes its wholly-owned low-cost airline Jetstar, was a whopping 60.8% in April 2023, carrying nearly a quarter of all domestic passengers.

Qantas did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Rashmi Aich)