Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNN on Monday that several Arab countries breached the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization convention from 1944 in which all signatories should grant "the privilege to fly across its territory without landing" and claimed Qatar has "legal channels to object" to the move.
"It is actually a travesty of civilized behavior to close airline offices. Airlines offices are not political arms,"Al Baker said. He called on the UN to "declare" the flight suspension by several Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates an "illegal act."
The Qatar Airways chief also stated he was "extremely disappointed" in United States President Donald Trump's reaction to a number of countries cutting diplomatic ties with Doha over its alleged support of terrorism. He claimed the US should take the lead in the attempt to "break this blockade" instead of just "watching" and "putting fuel on the fire."
On Friday, Trump urged Qatar to "stop funding" extremists and insisted the nation has financed terrorism at a "very high level." Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to ease their blockade against Qatar.
