(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula / Agencies
Doha: Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has apologized for the comments he made yesterday and said that his remarks at the closing of a global airlines gathering on Tuesday had been intended as a joke and was taken out of context by the media.
"I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for any offense caused by my comment yesterday, which runs counter to my track record of expanding the role of women in leadership throughout the Qatar Airways Group and has been sensationalised by the media, he said in a statement put out on his behalf by the airline.
Qatar Airways has more than 44 percent female staff and also is the first one to appoint female pilots in the region. The airline also has females in very senior positions, the statement added.
Asked on Tuesday about female employment among Middle East airlines and why his job as CEO could not be done by a woman, al Baker had said: "Of course it has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position."
"Quite frankly I think the press took it out of context. They ... blew it out of proportion. It was just a joke...I apologise for it," Al Baker told a CAPA-Centre for Aviation conference in Sydney today.
Asked by media whether he'd welcome a female executive as CEO, Al Baker said: "It will be my pleasure to have a female CEO candidate I could then develop to become CEO after me.
The full statement published by Qatar Airways
H.E Mr. Akbar Al Baker: I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies for any offence caused by my comment yesterday, which runs counter to my track record of expanding the role of women in leadership throughout the Qatar Airways Group and has been sensationalised by the media. pic.twitter.com/M07Wczk08B
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) June 5, 2018
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