CEO of Qatar Airways Resigns; Airport Official to Take Over

Akbar Al Baker, one of the aviation industry's most vocal executives, is stepping down after nearly three decades at the head of the government-run carrier.

According to internal sources, Al Baker would be replaced by Badr Mohammed Al Meer, who is now the chief operational officer of Hamad International Airport.

For his "27 years of extraordinary service," Chairman Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi thanked Al Baker in an internal memo in which he also announced Al Baker's departure.

Al Baker was named CEO of Qatar Airways in 1997, only three years after the airline's beginnings, and has been essential in growing the company into a significant worldwide competitor of Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

In addition to constantly battling with airline heads in the United States and Europe over trade and labour concerns, he became a byword for a change in the global aviation landscape towards the Gulf, as airlines grasped up customers travelling between East and West.

Al Baker led the airline through a recent heated disagreement with Airbus about damage to the surface of A350 aircraft, and he routinely made waves by compelling Western plane giants Airbus and Boeing over their strategy or manufacturing craftsmanship. An unconventional and possibly devastating UK court battle in the jet industry was avoided when Airbus and Qatar Airways settled at the end of January. Al Baker described the agreement as "win-win" when he spoke about it earlier this year in Berlin.

During the diplomatic embargo of Qatar by its Arab neighbours in 2017–2021, he became a prominent spokesperson for the country and advocated for maintaining transportation links despite the outbreak. His penchant for making impulsive comments often earned him criticism and forced him to issue an apology, as was the case in 2018 when he claimed that a woman couldn't perform his job.

Alex Macheras, an aviation expert, was the one to reveal the news of Al Baker's resignation on platform X. As reported, Al Baker had been removed as Qatar's senior tourism administrator by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al Thani. The decision was made without explanation. Whether Al Baker is also leaving his roles as CEO of Hamad International Airport and Qatar Duty Free remains unclear at this time.

No one from Qatar Airways could be contacted so far for comments on the situation.

 

Source: reuters.com