Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has called for IATA to stand up against protectionism. IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said it was “no secret” that there were “underlying tensions in our industry,” but added that “IATA is not the battleground on which a solution can be found. There can be no doubt that we are all flying better together.”
Al Baker stated at the event that he sees a risk of the open skies and liberalization policies being rolled back as part of the initiative by American, Delta and United airlines. Any changes to US policy and the interpretation of the open-skies deals in question would “reverberate around the world” and lead to more protectionism. Al Baker argues that IATA should reassert the agenda for freedom it adopted in 2008. Al Baker used the OneWorld meeting this week to suggest that Qatar may leave the alliance if American Airlines continues on its course with Delta and United of petitioning Capitol Hill.
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