The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has received a submission from Qantas declaring the airline may have to condense international operations if its proposed agreement with Emirates is not approved.

Qantas Airways warned that it would stop flying to Europe, “materially contract” its services to a small number of ports and turn its international operations into a “virtual network”, according to The Australian.

The airline said it would need to operate out of ports where it could make an appropriate revenue return.

Those ports would not include Europe.

“Under such a scenario, Australians will lose the benefit of Qantas operating a strong locally based international network airline. This is not in the national interest,” it said in the submission.

Qantas said its trans-Tasman, Asian and European routes were making “significant losses” and its international portfolio was still continuing to struggle.

Qantas revealed the new Emirates deal was an “urgent strategic imperative” to combat underperformance.

Qantas announced its new extensive aviation agreement with Emirates earlier this month.

Will Qantas be able to survive without the proposed 10-year partnership? Leave your comments below.