Addendum
Al Baker “disappointed” with ICAO response to Qatar blockade
June 1st 2018
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has criticized the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for a “timid and disappointing” response to the blockade imposed on his country and airline by neighbouring Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Read More » He called on the world to condemn such “reckless political manoeuvres that violate fundamental norms of international aviation”.
In an impassioned speech, the first by an airline chief outside of the European Union to the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), Al Baker gave behind the scenes details of the shock blockade imposed on Qatar in June last year. The blockade barred Qatar Airways from using the airspace of the countries involved, an action that has caused the carrier to descend into loss.
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Explaining that he was at the IATA (International Air Transport Association) AGM in Cancun, Mexico, when the events unfolded, he said he made a 22-hour journey home to “guide his airline in response to this unprecedented act of war. The extreme violations were carried out without provocation and without a mandate from the UN Security Council or any other international body”, he said.
Al Baker said 2017 was a turning point for the State of Qatar, as the country became subject to “a ruthless campaign of isolation”. The clear intention of the blockading states was to endanger the economy of Qatar by threatening the livelihood of residents, he said.
“With 18 air corridors immediately reduced to two corridors elaborate measures were necessary to assure safe operations in and out of Qatar. In the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, the normal flow of goods and basic supplies such as medicine, food and water, was dangerously interrupted. Qatar Airways offices were closed by force and without prior notice by local authorities in the blockade states. These actions, perpetrated without warning and justification, imposed significant human hardship on the families separated as a result,” Al Baker said.
He went as far as contrasting the sense of isolation felt by Qatar residents from the blockade to dark moments in history like the erection of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.
Al Baker flew into Brussels last month after welcoming the first Air Italy aircraft - a B737 MAX - in its new livery to its home country, direct from the Boeing Everett Delivery Centre in Seattle. The inaugural aircraft is the first of nearly 50 new aircraft that will be added to the Air Italy fleet by 2022.
Qatar Airways acquired 49% of AQA Holding, the new parent company of Air Italy, last year. The previous sole shareholder, Alisarda, has retained 51% of the carrier. Al Baker vowed to see Air Italy overtake bankrupt Alitalia as Italy’s flag carrier.
