Qantas has told the federal court that it will use Frequent Flyer Points to pay its fine for illegally sacking baggage handlers, with the points redeemable using a 14-digit code it will send to the judge next week.

A spokesperson for the airline said Australian taxpayers preferred company fines to be paid using Frequent Flyer points because they were more flexible than cash. “These points can be used for any Rewards Flights currently available between Townsville and Kabul departing in January or February 2047, excluding weekends and public holidays or flights after 5 pm. So there really is a lot of choice,” the spokesperson said.

He said the fact that Qantas did not fly between Townsville and Kabul was not the airline’s responsibility. “It is conceivable that a plane could fly between those two destinations, and the fact that we don’t is not materially important in assessing the validity of this offer. That is very clearly explained in the fine print”.

Qantas said it was simply responding to customer feedback. “Our customers are telling us that, more than anything, they want the opportunity to fly to a landlocked Middle Eastern conflict zone in 2047. We’re just delivering on that”.