Qatar Airways seeks $5bn in compensation from blocking countries

Qatar Airways said yesterday it had filed international arbitration against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt demanding at least $5 billion in compensation after the countries banned it from flying over their airspace and removing it from their market.

Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al-Baker, said: “The decision by the blockading states to prevent Qatar Airways from operating in their countries and flying over their airspace is a clear breach of civil aviation conventions and several binding agreements they are signatories to.”

“After more than three years of efforts to resolve the crisis amicably through dialogue yielded no results, we have taken the decision to issue notices of arbitration and pursue all legal remedies to protect our rights and secure full compensation for the violations. The blockading states must be held accountable for their illegal actions in the aviation sector, which includes a failure to comply with their obligations under bilateral agreements, multilateral agreements and international law,” he added

In June 2017, the four countries severed ties with Qatar before banning its national carrier from flying over their airspace and closing the company’s offices.

READ: Having refused negotiation, the Blockading Four must bear the consequences of arbitration