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Qatar Airways Sues For $5+ Billion In Compensation For Blockade

Qatar Airways announced Wednesday that it had launched an international arbitration against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt for losses incurred due to the quartet’s ongoing blockade against Qatar. The carrier said it is seeking at least $5 billion in compensation for damages to investments and global operations.

Qatar Airways is asking for $5 billion from the four states. Photo: Qatar Airways

Two years and counting

The ongoing two-year airspace blockade against Qatar by four of its neighbors has resulted in direct losses of hundreds of millions of dollars for its flag-carrier. Furthermore, it has made the carrier’s investments into the adjacent markets redundant. Now, it is seeking compensation.

On Wednesday, Qatar Airways announced that it had launched four international investment arbitrations against the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt. The carrier is seeking $5 billion-plus in reimbursement for actions it deems “unlawful.”

“The decision by the blockading states to prevent Qatar Airways from operating in their countries and flying over their airspace is a clear breach of civil aviation conventions and several binding agreements they are signatories to,” Mr Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer of Qatar Airways said in a statement seen by Simple Flying. 

Qatar Airways said the blockade had explicitly targeted the carrier with the aim of destroying its operations and investments into the markets of the blockading quartet, as well as causing widespread damage to its global operations.

International investment arbitration is a procedure to resolve issues between foreign investors and host states.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, along with Egypt, have kept the blockade in place since 2017. Photo: Google Maps

What happened?

On the 5th of June 2017, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain severed political, economic, and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and extremism. They gave Qatari nationals residing in their states 14 days to leave while forbidding their own citizens from visiting or residing in Qatar. Egypt also cut ties but did not tell its citizens to leave the country.

The four states closed off their airspace to flag-carrier Qatar Airways and other Qatari aircraft. Furthermore, any foreign airline heading to or from Qatar would need to seek permission from the country whose airspace it wished to traverse.

List of demands

The total collapse of relations came after its neighbors did not receive the response they wanted to a list of 13 points they demanded Qatar agree to. These included that the country must curb diplomatic ties with Iran, severe all links to “terrorist organizations,” and stop the funding of certain groups.

They also required Qatar to shut down Al-Jazeera, close a Turkish military base, stop interfering in the domestic issues of other states, and pay compensation for “lives lost” due to Qatari policies. Furthermore, demands were made that Qatar “align” itself militarily, politically, economically, and socially.

Doha has always denied the accusations of supporting terrorists that led to the collapse in neighborly relations. Photo: Qatar Airways

No list, but six principles

While Qatar’s neighbors dropped the specific demands a couple of weeks later, they still insisted that the country submits to six broad principles along the same lines. These are combating terrorism and extremism, denying financing and safe haven to terrorist groups, ceasing incitement of violence, and not meddling in other states’ internal affairs.

Doha has always denied any charges of supporting terrorism and says that the four blockading states are attempting to infringe on its sovereignty, the very thing they are accusing Qatar of doing.

Recently, the Hague-based International Court of Justice of the UN sided with Qatar against the quartet, opening up for a decision on the blockade to be made by the International Civil Aviation Organization.





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