Asked at a news conference on Tuesday about female employment among Middle East airlines and whether his job could be done by a woman, Mr al Baker said: "Of course it has to be led by a man, because it is a very challenging position". Speaking at a news conference Tuesday at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Sydney, Australia, Akbar Al Baker marked the occasion of becoming chair of the trade body's board of governors by dismissing the notion that the lack of women in his industry is an issue. "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 sensationalized by the media," said Al Baker. He said his comments on Tuesday were "sensationalised by the media... Qatar Airways is made stronger by its female employees for whom I hold nothing but the highest regard." Related: Qatar Airways CEO: Gulf boycott hurts but won't bring us down 
 
 Qatar Airways followed up with a statement from Al Baker that touted the company's record on gender equality: 
 
 "While I am known in the media for some lightheartedness at press conferences, it is crucial that I emphasize the facts as I did today and the importance of women representatives in the airline industry," the statement said. His statement continued: "Qatar Airways firmly believes in gender equality in the workplace and our airline has been a pioneer in our region in this regard, as the first airline to employ female pilots, as one of the first to train and employ female engineers, and with females represented through to senior vice-president positions within the airline reporting directly to me." Asked if he would embrace having a female leader, he told the news service: "It will be my pleasure to have a female CEO candidate that I could then develop to become CEO after me."
– The head of Qatar Airways is backpedaling after saying it takes a man to do his job. Akbar Al Baker attended Tuesday's annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Sydney, Australia, where he was named as the organization's new chairman. But it was his response to a question about gender imbalance in the industry, a key topic of the meeting, that drew the most notice. Qatar Airways "has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position," Al Baker said. A day later, he issued "heartfelt apologies for any offense caused," though he said his comment was "sensationalized by the media," per the BBC. "Qatar Airways is made stronger by its female employees" and "the dedication, drive, and skill they bring to their jobs tells me that no role is too tough for them," he added. Al Baker clarified that includes the role of CEO. (Females currently lead just six of IATA's 280 airline members.) Majority shareholder Air Italy "has shortlisted women to be the CEO and as a minority shareholder, we are actively encouraging that," he said, adding "it would be my pleasure if I could help develop a female candidate to be the next CEO of Qatar Airways." Al Baker also stressed that he's "known in the media for some lightheartedness at press conferences," per CNN. The BBC agrees the CEO "has a reputation for making blunt and often humorous comments, but they can also backfire." Just last year, Al Baker apologized after he was accused of ageism for referring to US flight attendants as "grandmothers." The average age of his airline's flight attendants at the time was 26, per CBS News.