Qatar Airways Group confirms after 27 years, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, will be stepping down from his current position as Group Chief Executive effective 5 November 2023.  He will be succeeded by Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer who is currently COO at Qatar hun, Hamad Intl. Airport.

Under  Al Baker’s leadership, Qatar Airways has grown to become one of the most recognisable brands globally, synonymous with customer service quality and high 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”.

Famously outspoken about the global aviation industry, Al Baker’s comments occasionally caused controversy, but his legacy will be the transformation of a small regional carrier operating a fleet of second-hand aircraft into one of the largest and best-known airline brands in the world, and one of a tiny number of airlines recognised as being a five-star carrier by Skytrax.