Qatar Airways can sustain its operations in the future in the face of an unjust blockade, aviation analyst Alex Macheras has said.
“In terms of future outlook, I think Qatar in the Middle East is the most sustainable because they are actually preparing for the future,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 31st annual IATA Ground Handling Conference (IGHC).
Macheras noted that other airlines in the region have slowed down a little while Qatar continuously competes on a global scale.
Despite air restrictions by blockading countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt), Qatar Airways has continued its expansion, opening new routes and increasing its frequencies to various destinations in its network around the world.
“In terms of how Qatar Airways and how Qatar can move forward, the best thing they did is recognise that there is a blockade, instead of just of complaining about it like other states may have,” Macheras explained. “Instead they accelerated everything.”
He said that the airline “grew massively” with new destinations, increasing its frequencies and acquiring new aircraft.
“Such an acceleration plan went into place and at the same time they were able to realise what is happening politically,” Macheras said. “The best thing they did is accelerate their plans given the illegal blockade.”
He noted that flights that have been directly affected by the blockade are not affecting Qatar Airways too much.
While losing markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Macheras said that the airline picked up internationally and reapplied elsewhere.
“There are no aircraft parked here on the ground … in fact Qatar Airways is short of planes at the moment,” he added. “If they continue on the course that they are, things will continue to be fine.”
“In this blockade, there are states which are openly violating international aviation law,” Macheras said. “The UAE champion themselves as the leader for open skies. Yet they were the first to close their airspace, massively contradicting their statements for years.
“ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organisation) is dealing with this. Ultimately, we have just to wait and see how it turns out.”
About the conference, he expressed optimism that this year’s edition will bring awareness not only to the region but also to those outside of Qatar since “not many people are aware of the exact dynamic of the blockade”.
“I speak to people (outside the region), for example in the US, and when they find out that I’m in Qatar the whole the time, they think I’m going to a country that is under siege and struggling,” he said. “Somehow they don’t know that things have been better here since June 5, not just the same.”
Macheras: The UAE champion themselves as the leader for open skies. Yet they were the first to close their airspace, massively contradicting their statements for years.
