Blockade, which includes an airspace ban, is ‘putting financial strain’ on the airline after a $541m profit in 2016.
Qatar Airways will report a “very large loss” because of a regional political dispute that has slapped restrictions on the airline, its chief executive said on Wednesday.
The Qatari airline lost access to 18 cities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Bahrain when those countries imposed a blockade on the country last June, accusing Doha of supporting “terrorism”. Qatar denies the charges.
“We will announce a very large loss during the current financial year, which ends this month,” Akbar al-Baker said, without giving further details.
When asked if it was running short of cash,…