Qatar Airways is filing cases for international arbitration against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt over the air blockade they instituted three years ago. The state-owned company is demanding the blockade be lifted. The airline also seeks 5 bilion dollars in compensation from the countries.
Since 2017, Qatar Airways is no longer allowed to fly to the four countries or use their airspace because the Qatari government is said to support terrorists. This results in high costs for Qatar Airways as flights to Europe have to fly around Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al Baker says there has long been a friendly attempt to resolve this conflict, but due to lack of success it is now time to take legal action. According to Al Baker, the air blockade violates various international treaties.