Qatar pulling out of Cargolux say airline sources

News service Flightglobal is reporting sources within Qatar Airways as claiming the Doha airline is abandoning its stake in European freighter airline, Cargolux.

It said that Qatar, which acquired a 35% stake in Cargolux last year, has since been seeking to restructure the carrier's operations. But, it said, the airline has been blocked by other shareholders from pushing through changes, and has lost patience so decided to ditch its shareholding.

Talk of the Gulf carrier pulling out of the deal has been rife for more than a month and sources in Luxembourg say the airline’s fate had been highly dependent on the outcome of political decisions between the Emirate of Qatar and Luxembourg's government.

Key demands by the airline are believed to have included increasing its stake to more than 50%, as well as an equity stake in Luxair, the major Cargolux shareholder (43.4%).

Cargolux is believed to need a large cash injection to finance the airline's fleet renewal program.

Luxemburg's biggest union Onafhaengege Gewerschaftsbond Letzebuerg (OGBL) has been urging the Government to block any changes in the carrier's existing shareholder structure