Qatar Airways Announces Resignation of CEO Akbar Al Baker

Qatar Airways announced the resignation of CEO Akbar Al Baker on Monday, Oct. 23, which will be effective from Nov. 5.

Al Baker announced his resignation through a letter sent to the Qatar Airways staff. 

He will be replaced by Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, who is the current CEO of the Hamad International Airport.

Al Baker was also the chairman of Qatar Tourism and was replaced by Saad bin Ali Al Kharji on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Al Baker transformed Qatar Airways from a small company containing a fleet of four aircrafts to the aviation industry's leading names with more than 200 aircrafts and flying to more than 130 destinations.

During Al Baker's management, Qatar Airways net profits reached 14.3 billion dollars with assets of 41.4 billion dollars in the fiscal year that ended in 2022. 

Under his management, the airline introduced the Qsuite and became the launch customer for the  Airbus A350-900 in 2014, A350-1000 in 2018, and the Boeing Dreamliner 787 in 2015.

Al Baker's management also led to the expansion of Hamad International Airport's capacity to 53 million passengers. 

Under his leadership, the airport was named the 'World's Best Airport' in 2021 and 2022 and the second-best airport in 2023 by Skytrax. 

Al Baker received the Legion of Honour in 2015 by then French president Francois Hollande for his work in the aviation industry.

The aviation exectuive also received the Joseph Murphy Award by Air Transport World in 2022. 

Al Baker ranked second in Forbes' 'Top 100 Travel & Tourism Leaders 2023', which highlights the success Al Baker has led the Qatar's tourism industry to. 

Image source: Qatar Airways website