Qatar Airways is taking aim at Gulf-region enforced travel restrictions in a new YouTube video, "No Borders, Only Horizons."
"As an airline, we don't believe in boundaries," narrates the video. "We believe in bringing people together."
[CALLOUT]
The ad was released two weeks after Saudi Arabia, the United Emirates and Bahrain cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, for allegedly sponsoring terrorism-related activities and groups. The move included closing all airspace to any flights to and from Doha, an action which Forbes likened to "weaponizing airspace."
There are now limited flight paths in and out of Qatar, which is almost wholly surrounded by nations with now-restricted airspace. Most airlines serving the country must now take longer detours, often over Iran airspace.
Naturally, the new flight restrictions most affect Doha-based Qatar Airways, which had to discontinue flights to some 18 neighboring destinations. Some experts predicted the airline would have to cut as many as 50 flights a day, or 10 percent of its capacity.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has called the blockade illegal and has asked for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to intervene.
"This blockade is unprecedented, and it is in direct contradiction to the convention that guarantees rights to civil overflight," said Al Baker in a statement. "We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to declare this an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us."
The CEO has also said that most flights are departing as scheduled.
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"Qatar Airways' global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances," said Al Baker. "In the past week, the award-winning global airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network of more than 150 destinations around the globe, with 90 percent of those flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time."
The airline also plans to continue with its aggressive expansion plan which calls for the addition of 24 new routes in the next 18 months. This week the airline introduced a new direct flight to Dublin. Other flights on tap for the coming months include Las Vegas; Canberra, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile.
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As Qatar introduces its much-awaited, luxury Qsuite at this week's Paris Air Show, the airline's new video places a heavy emphasis on reminding travelers that "travel makes us human."
"We know that travel goes beyond borders and prejudices," says the video.
"The world is all of ours to explore and it's a strange thing for us to be apart. It's a right for all of us to go where we want to go."
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