Flag carrier Qatar Airways said on Wednesday that it had triggered international investment arbitrations against the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over their 2017 air, sea and land blockade, which saw the company's flights banned from the four countries
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2020) Flag carrier Qatar Airways said on Wednesday that it had triggered international investment arbitrations against the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over their 2017 air, sea and land blockade, which saw the company's flights banned from the four countries.
"Qatar Airways Group Q.C.S.C., owner and operator of Qatar Airways, the award-winning flag carrier of the State of Qatar, has launched four international investment arbitrations against the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Republic of Egypt. Since 2017, the four aforementioned states have imposed an illegal air, sea and land blockade against Qatar," the company said in a press release.
According to the company, the arbitrations aim to receive at least $5 billion from the four countries as compensation for their actions to remove Qatar Airways from their markets and ban the airline from flying over their airspace.
"The Notices of Arbitration make clear that by imposing the measures against Qatar Airways, the blockading states have violated their obligations ... including by expropriating and failing to adequately protect and secure Qatar Airways' investments, discriminating against Qatar Airways, and failing to provide fair and equitable treatment to the airline and its investments," the press release added.
The blocking of Qatar Airways and its operations was imposed on June 5, 2017, without prior warning by the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In particular, the four countries closed their airspace and airports to Qatar Airways' aircraft and revoked the airline's licenses and permits to operate there. These measures were aimed at shuttering Qatar Airways' local operations, destroying the value of the airline's investments and causing widespread damage to the company's global network.
