Qatar Airways CEO: US adding ‘fuel to the fire’ in Gulf rift

JEDDAH: Qatar Airways’ chief executive officer slammed the US response to the Gulf crisis and accused it of “adding fuel to the fire.”
In an interview with CNNMoney, Akbar Al-Baker said the blockade imposed on his country by its Gulf neighbors is “illegal” and requires US intervention to resolve the situation.
The International Civil Aviation Organization “should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act,” Al-Baker said.
US President Donald Trump has endorsed Saudi Arabia’s decision, along with the UAE and Bahrain, to sever ties with Qatar against the backdrop of accusations of supporting terrorism.
“I don’t want to comment about President Trump,” Al-Baker said in Doha. “I am extremely disappointed.”
“(The US) should be the leader trying to break this blockade and not sitting and watching what’s going on and actually putting fuel on (the) fire.”
He did not expect such treatment by a country “so dependent on its fight against terrorism,” especially since Qatar is host to the largest US military base in the Middle East with 10,000 American military personnel.
In a previous interview, Al-Baker described Trump as a “clever” businessman whom he would not mind doing business with.
“I’m a businessman and I will even do business with (the) devil as long (as) it’s win-win for both,” Al-Baker said.
Although Qatar Airways is among the biggest airlines in the world, it has a record of mistreating its staff and having discriminatory policies involving cabin crews.
The airline reportedly has a clause in its employment contract that allows it to sack female cabin crewmembers for being pregnant.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has published a report urging the airline to scrap the policy. Al-Baker said he does not “give a damn about the ILO — I’m there to run a successful airline.”
For violating the ILO Convention 111 against workplace discrimination signed by Qatar in 1976, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found Qatar Airways guilty.
Both unions accused Qatar Airways of imposing gender-based discrimination and restricting women’s rights.