Murad Sezer / Reuters
The chief executive of Qatar Airways is being ridiculed for saying his job is so challenging that it could only be done by a man. Akbar Al Baker was asked at a press conference in Sydney what could be done to tackle the lack of women working in Middle East air travel. Al Baker boldly replied that this wasn’t the case at his airline, before adding to groans from the audience: “Of course it has to be led by a man, because it is a very challenging position.” Al Baker made the absurd remark shortly after becoming chairman of the International Air Transport Association’s board of governors. The CEO attempted to clarify his comments later, telling Bloomberg News: “I was only referring to one individual. I was not referring to the staff in general.” He eventually went on to say: “It will be my pleasure to have a female CEO candidate I could then develop to become CEO after me.”