BERLIN: The chief executive of Qatar Airways says it will report a “very large loss” because of a regional political dispute that has slapped sanctions on the airline.
Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker on Wednesday blasted the boycott during the annual tourism fair in Berlin.
“We will announce a very large loss during the current financial year, which ends this month,” he said as quoted by Reuters, without giving further details.
Last June, the major Gulf airline lost access to 18 cities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Bahrain after those four states imposed a boycott on Qatar, citing its support for terrorism.
The carrier will need to find new streams of financing to survive since it has no access to the equivalent of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, CEO Al-Baker added.
Al-Baker has previously warned that Qatar Airways would make a loss but had declined to disclose how significant it would be, according to Reuters.