Dubai: Qatar Airways will suffer a large loss because of restrictions imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, its chief executive officer said.
Akbar Al Baker, speaking at the annual tourism fair in Berlin, said Qatar Airways will suffer a "very large loss" for the year ending April 1. The airline will need to find new streams of financing to survive since it has no access to the equivalent of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Qatar Airways has had to scrap short-haul routes it once flew to the states that imposed the embargo for supporting extremists and funding terrorism.
Swapping to longer routes using wide-body aircraft is driving up costs and at some point the company will seek to recoup its losses, Al Baker said.
Qatar Airways is also being denied entry to airspace over the countries, causing diversions that extend flying times and add to the fuel bill.
