Even the major Arab airlines need extra government help in the pandemic. Qatar Airways now reveals that the company has received 7.3 billion riyals (just over 18 billion kronor) from the country's government.

Such a cash injection was announced in March, but has not been confirmed until now.

Qatar Airways is state-owned, and the extra money has since been converted into new shares. But the airline is costing the small oil country dearly – it was already making losses, and the pandemic is expected to greatly worsen the red numbers.

In addition, due to regional conflicts, Qatar Airways is now banned from the airspace of neighboring countries Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which means that the planes have to take detours.

Source: TT