Empire State Building lit in Qatar Airways' colours to celebrate 10th anniversary of US routes

Empire State Building lit in Qatar Airways' colours to celebrate 10th anniversary of US routes
The Empire State Building in New York City is lit up in burgundy and white for Qatar Airways amid a diplomatic dispute with Qatar.

3 min read
28 June, 2017
The iconic Empire State Building in New York on Tuesday night [AFP]

The Empire State Building in New York City was lit burgundy and white for Qatar Airways on Tuesdat evening amid a diplomatic dispute between the US' Gulf allies and Qatar.

The top section of the tower were illumitated with the colours of the carrier's livery to recognise the tenth anniversary of Qatar Airways flights to the US.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund in August purchased a 9.9-percent stake in the company that owns the Empire State Building for $622 million.

Qatar Airways is the state flag carrier of Qatar, a small energy-rich nation now at the centre of a diplomatic crisis with other Arab nations. 

The dispute has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar - as well as block air travel routes - due to Doha's independent foreign policy and support for outspoken media outlets such as Al-Jazeera.

The United Nations aviation agency will hold a special hearing on 30 June after Qatar requested that the UN body intervene in the diplomatic crisis which has seen the Saudi-led bloc close its airspace to flights from Doha.
Qatar Airways has reclaimed the top spot in the 2017 Skytrax World's Best Airline rankings despite the decision of Qatar's rivals to ban the Doha-based carrier from using their airspace
On a roll

Last week, Qatar Airways reclaimed the top spot in the 2017 Skytrax World's Best Airline rankings despite the decision of Doha's rivals to ban the carrier from using their airspace. 

"At these difficult times of illegal bans on flights out of my country by big bullies, this is an award not to me, not to my airline, but to my country," Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker said at the Paris Air Show ceremony.

One of the world's fastest-growing airlines, Qatar Airways also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including Best Airline in the Middle East, World's Best Business Class and World's Best First Class Airline Lounge.

The airline previously won the title of the World's Best Airline in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

In defiance of the blockade and its implications, Qatar Airways is still forging ahead with its ambitious plans for growth.

These include the launch of a major revamp of QSuite, the airline's Business Class product.

The first of the airline's aircraft to be fitted with the seats, a Boeing 777, is currently on show at Le Bourget in Paris.

Its first flight with passengers launched on the Doha to London Heathrow route on Saturday.

Last week, the carrier's chief, Baker, said in a statement that Qatar Airways was largely unaffected by the boycott decision, operating some 1,200 flights in the first week of the crisis, 90 percent of which took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times.

Earlier this month, Qatar Airways announced profits of $540 million in the fiscal year, which ended in March.