The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is suing the airline in the Federal Court over allegations Qantas engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by continuing to sell thousands of tickets for flights that were cancelled.

The parties appeared before the court in Melbourne for a brief case management hearing on Wednesday, where upcoming dates were set.

They will return to the court on February 28 next year.

Qantas has acknowledged it had let customers down but said airlines cannot guarantee specific flight times which could be delayed due to the nature of travel, including weather and operational issues.

The consumer watchdog alleged Qantas did not notify existing ticket holders for 10,000 cancelled flights for an average of 18 days, and up to 48 days, between May and July 2022.

A quarter of the airline’s flights were cancelled between May and July 2022, which accounted for about 15,000, the watchdog said.

The ACCC is seeking penalties, injunctions, declarations and costs.

Qantas will fight the allegations, saying the ACCC’s case ignored the realities of the aviation industry.

Impacted domestic travellers on 10 cancelled flights cited by the ACCC were offered same-day flights prior to, or within an hour after their scheduled departure times, Qantas said.

The airline also pointed to the 98 per cent of impacted international customers on the 10 examples being offered options of flights within a day of the scheduled departure.

It acknowledged tickets were left on sale for longer than 48 hours in some cases.

The Federal Court action comes amid a turbulent period for Qantas, with shareholders rejecting pay rises for the airline’s board following a High Court defeat over illegal job outsourcing and vicious Senate grillings over its role in the cost-of-living crisis.

-AAP