Bob Katter sparks chaos at Canberra Airport Qantas counter
Maverick politician Bob Katter, 77, sparks chaos at the airport by refusing to let flight attendants check in his bag – prompting Qantas staff to CHASE him: ‘I can’t let it out of my sight’
- Queensland MP was boarding a flight from Canberra to Sydney on Thursday
- Qantas staff wanted him to put his carry-on suitcase in the small plane’s hold
- Mr Katter refused due to documents inside and marched on to the plane
Bob Katter sparked chaos at an airline boarding counter when he refused to let his suitcase be stowed in the plane’s hold.
The independent MP was boarding a 5.10pm Qantas flight from Canberra to Sydney on Thursday on his way back from the parliamentary sitting week.
A flight attendant told him that due to the size of the small Dash plane, his suitcase needed to be tagged and handed to ground staff to be stored in the hold.
Mr Katter, 77, refused, and after a short back and forth, marched through the doors towards the plane.
Bob Katter sparked chaos at an airline boarding counter when he refused to let his suitcase be stowed in the plane’s hold
The flight attendant yelled at him to stop have have his bag tagged, then chased after him a short distance – before giving up.
Instead, she radioed to colleagues on the tarmac telling them his bag needed to be tagged and taken on to the plane, before returning to boarding other passengers.
‘He does this every time,’ she exclaimed after returning to the counter.
Mr Katter managed to get his suitcase into the cabin and stored it in an overhead compartment, mostly spending the 55-minute flight napping.
After arriving at Sydney Airport, Mr Katter explained why he refused to allow Qantas staff to stow his suitcase.
The maverick politician admitted he had never been good at doing what he was told, and still wasn’t
‘The lady at the counter demanded my bag, it felt like a bit of a power play,’ he said.
‘I said I have sensitive documents in there and I can’t let it out of my sight, but I’m not the best at hearing these days.’
The maverick politician admitted he had never been good at doing what he was told, and still wasn’t.
Mr Katter is the ‘Father of the House’ as the longest-tenured MP in the lower house, having been elected to the seat of Kennedy in North Queensland in 1993.
Before that, he was a member of the Queensland parliament from 1974 to 1992.