Qatar Airways to Seek Compensation for Blockade

Qatar Airways has issued a statement on the judgment of the International Court of Justice to which it had turned concerning the blockade of Qatar. The airline has also announced to resume flights to the Maldives.

Qatar Airways welcomes the Judgment of the International Court of Justice affirming that the ICAO Council has the jurisdiction to hear any disagreement relating to the interpretation and implementation of the Chicago Convention 1944 and the International Air Services Transit Agreement.

"We look forward to observing the return of the State of Qatar to Montreal to urge the ICAO Council to condemn the illegal airspace blockade of it and take appropriate actions to require the four blockading States to comply with their obligations under international law in order to restore the normalcy of international civil aviation," the statement points out.

In line with the ruling of the ICJ and the legal precedent allowing the State of Qatar to continue its case at ICAO against the blockading States, Qatar Airways will pursue its case for appropriate compensation of the financial injuries inflicted on Qatar Airways as a result of the illegal airspace blockade.

"The arbitrary and abusive measures that these four States have taken against us have devastated our carefully planned decades-long program for investment and growth in those countries; they have arbitrarily prevented us from serving hundreds of thousands of passengers, and transporting tens of thousands of tons of cargo to and from each of these countries annually. 

At Qatar Airways, we firmly believe that travel is a right for all and that this world is all of ours to explore. Qatar Airways will pursue all available legal remedies to secure full compensation to protect our rights and the rights of our customers."

In another announcement, the airline says it is delighted to be the first international airline to resume flights to the Maldives, with the first daily service touching down at Velana International Airport this Thursday morning, marked with a water cannon salute. Airline will also resume flights this month to Addis Ababa, Antalya, Bodrum, Djibouti, Helsinki and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen.

With the airline’s network never falling below 30 destinations throughout this crisis, Qatar Airways continues to lead the recovery of international air travel. By the end of July, the airline’s network will expand to over 450 weekly flights to more than 70 destinations.