Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar al-Baker, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association, the airline said on Sunday.
Baker will start his one-year term in June 2018, taking over from current Chairman, Singapore Airlines’ Goh Choon Phong.
Qatar Airways has been recently forced to fly longer, more expensive routes after being denied access to the airspace of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as part of economic sanctions.
The four countries severed ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denied.
The move has prompted Doha to call for the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation to intervene.