(Bloomberg) — A group of Australian women won the right to sue Qatar Airways Group QCSC after being subjected to invasive bodily examinations without consent at Doha airport in 2020.

The events of Oct. 2, 2020, followed the discovery of a newborn baby in a bathroom in the airport terminal, and female passengers on a Qatar Airways flight preparing to leave for Sydney were ordered off the plane. The examinations of the women took place as authorities tried to identify the mother of the abandoned infant.

In a ruling published Thursday, the Federal Court of Australia found the women’s claims against the airline strong enough to proceed to trial, overriding an earlier judgment that sided with Qatar Airways.

The finding is a setback for Qatar Airways in Australia, where the company owns 25% of local airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. and is seeking more long-haul traffic to the Middle East. At one stage, the incident was cited by Australia’s government as one of the factors in blocking a request by Qatar Airways for more flights to Australia.  

While the next legal steps are unclear, future proceedings could also test to what degree international aviation law holds airlines responsible for the way passengers are treated.

According to Thursday’s ruling, the five women taking legal action were directed to an ambulance on the tarmac at Doha. Four of them were examined without permission, and three of the women were searched invasively. They then returned to the aircraft, which departed for Sydney.

Qatar Airways didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

–With assistance from Danny Lee.

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