DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Qatar Airways announced on Sunday its net profits rose to $540 million in its latest financial disclosure before the airline took a hit and was blocked from flying to major Arab states.
The carrier, which marks its 20th anniversary this year and is one of the Middle East’s biggest airlines, said revenue rose last year from $9.6 billion to $10.6 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. Its net profits in 2016 stood at around $445 million.
Analysts estimate that a political standoff between Qatar and other Arab states will cost the airline heavily. Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar and blocked direct flights with the country.
Qatar Airways also stopped its flights to the four Arab countries in response to the UAE’s Etihad, Emirates, FlyDubai, EgyptAir and Bahrain’s Gulf Air suspending flights to Qatar.
Qatar’s new and state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport in Doha serves as a major transit hub for some 37 million passengers a year, largely between Europe and Asia. The cancelled flights impact many of the airline’s travelers who fly via to Doha to international destinations.