Wednesday, 22 July 2020_Qatar Airways has announced that it would seek at least 5 billion dollars in compensation from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt over the air blockade they imposed on the state-owned flag carrier.
The four countries have blocked Qatar Airways from their airspace since 2017 when the quartet severed diplomatic and trade ties with Doha over accusations it meddled in regional affairs and supported “terrorism.”
Qatar has rejected the allegations and said it was targeted because it followed an independent foreign policy.
“The arbitrations seek redress for the blockading states’ actions to remove Qatar Airways from their markets and to forbid the airline from flying over their airspace,” the carrier said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“These measures specifically targeted Qatar Airways, with the objective of shuttering Qatar Airways’ local operations, destroying the value of the airline’s investments and causing widespread damage to Qatar Airways’ global network of operations.”
Last week, the International Court of Justice ruled that Qatar could challenge the blockade before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), rejecting appeals made by the four countries.
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