Qatar Airways has announced that its long-standing Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker will step down from November 5, after having led the airline for 27 years which saw the emergence of Qatar Airways as a major global airline.

Qatar Airways Group has said that after 27 years of remarkable service, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, will be stepping down from his current position with effect from November 5, and will be succeeded by Badr Mohammed Al Meer, who currently leads the Hamad International Airport in Doha.

Under Al Baker’s leadership, Qatar Airways has grown to become one of the most recognisable and trusted brands globally, synonymous with customer service quality and the highest of standards. The national carrier of the State of Qatar has achieved an unprecedented seven-times win of the “World’s Best Airline” award, and its state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport, which is under its management and operation, has also been recognised as the “World’s Best Airport”, says the airline in a press statement.

The Qatar Airways Group’s contribution to helping deliver the best ever FIFA World Cup showcased to the world its capability, commitment to excellence, and its passion for bringing the world together, it adds.

Al Baker is one of the top names amongst the global aviation executives and has almost single-handedly built Qatar Airways from a tiny GCC-based airline with four aircraft in 1997 into a global behemoth with over 200 aircraft flying to 130 destinations across the world today.

Al Baker also navigated the airline through several turbulent times, notably a blockade imposed by most of the other GCC members in 2017 as the well as the Covid-19 pandemic.

A long haul flight

Al Baker, who was born in Doha in 1962, completed his education in India, and returned to Qatar to begin a career in travel and tourism. When he took over Qatar Airways, he developed a long-term plan with the vision to establish a full-fledged domestic airline with a global footprint.

Qatari airline its wholly-owned air transport system to avoid depending on neighbouring carriers. Over the past 27 years, Al Baker has led the carrier with frequent additions to its fleet, taking it to 42 in 2005, 110 in 2015 and then over 200 planes in 2019.

Besides growing the airline’s fleet, he also leaves a highly profitable business as Qatar Airways’ net profits stood at USD 14.3 billion in 2022.

In the statement, Qatar Airways says that Al Baker will be succeeded as leader of Qatar Airways by Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, currently Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport in Doha.