Qatar Airways Boss Hits Out at Maldives Fee Hike

The out-spoken boss of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, has hit out at the plans by the operator of Male International Airport in the Maldives to raise handling fees by more than a half, threatening to cancel the carrier’s current link to the popular holiday destination from Doha. In a statement, Akbar Al Baker said he was “dismayed” to hear of the “totally unreasonable” plans to increase fees by around 51 per cent, a move he explained that would “threaten” the future of air services.

Qatar Airways currently offers a twice daily service between Doha and Male, a key route that supports access to the Island archipelago from a variety of destinations across the glove, via the airline’s hub at Doha International Airport.

"My message to the Maldives authorities is to think again, think rationally and think about the future prosperity of your tourism industry,” he explained. "These steps may have not been thought through seriously by the airport operator and I urge them to think again."

"If we or any other major player withdraws services because of these unwarranted and draconian measures, it will be the people of the Maldives who will lose out, impacting their livelihoods as they rely heavily on the tourism industry," added Al Baker, noting that the Maldives economy is wholly based on tourism.