Qatar Airways CEO defends 160 extra daily flights at 'climate-neutral' World Cup

By Eoin McSweeney, CNN

Updated 1144 GMT (1944 HKT) May 31, 2022

Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN)The chief executive of Qatar Airways has defended a plan to operate more than 160 extra flights to shuttle spectators from the region to Doha and back each day, for what has been advertised as the first «carbon neutral» FIFA World Cup.

Qatar Airways announced on Thursday it had partnered with regional carriers to allow World Cup ticket holders to fly into Doha and back from neighboring countries just for the day. Climate advocates say the decision flies in the face of the tournament's sustainability goals. «Please don't believe people saying only negative [things],» Akbar Al Baker told CNN's Becky Anderson in an interview on Monday, adding that he was confident the flights would be full. "[We] have airplanes which have very low emissions compared to the normal aircraft most of the other airlines fly," including long-haul flights, he said.He did not elaborate on how the planes' emissions would be lower than others, but the airline's website says it uses «one of the youngest fleets in the sky» and has implemented 70 fuel optimization programs. Aviation is a major contributor to human-caused climate change. Qatar's economy is oil-based and has one of the biggest per capita carbon footprints in the world. Read MoreThe Middle East's $13 billion sandstorm problem is about to get worse Before Thursday's announcement, organizers had estimated a carbon footprint for the tournament of more than 3.6 million metric tons of CO2, more than half of which will come from traveling supporters. The emissions from the new daily flights — from Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait — will add to the current estimate.In response to questions from CNN, FIFA