Aviation sector will be disrupted for years, Qatar Airways boss says

Aviation sector will be disrupted for years, Qatar Airways boss says

The chief executive of Qatar Airways has warned that disruption across the aviation industry will last for years as companies recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“Covid has damaged the supply chain of the industry . . . I think that it will last for a couple of years — it is not going to go away tomorrow,” Akbar Al Baker told the Financial Times in an interview.

Labour shortages in Europe, delays in aircraft deliveries from manufacturers and a lack of spare parts had all affected Qatar Airways, he added.

Guillaume Faury, chief executiveof the world’s largest plane maker Airbus, last week said he expected supply chain issues to continue into next year, with manufacturers facing shortages of raw materials, spare parts and electronic components.

In the case of Qatar Airways, it is the staff shortages in Europe that are having the greatest impact, Al Baker said, because of disruption to flights that is having knock-on effects on the airline’s Doha hub.

This month Heathrow airport imposed an unprecedented passenger cap on airlines to try to avoid more disruption, drawing a furious reaction from Qatar’s regional rival Emirates.

Al Baker sits on the board of London’s Heathrow as a representative of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, a shareholder in the airport.

He criticised Heathrow for not giving airlines more warning about the passenger