QATAR AIRWAYS CHAIRMAN SEES MORE BOEINGS AND

S E C R E T DOHA 000330

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED DUBAI)

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/IR, CA/VO, CA/EX, DS, DSS
DUBAI FOR IRPO AND CONS
ABU DHABI FOR DHS/ICE AND FAA
PARIS FOR DHS/TSA
FRANKFURT FOR DHS/TSA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2011
TAGS: ASEC CVIS EAIR PREL QA KHLS IR
SUBJECT: QATAR AIRWAYS CHAIRMAN SEES MORE BOEINGS AND
EMBASSY DOHA INTERVIEWING NON-RESIDENT IRANIANS


Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer, reasons 1.4 (b&d)


1. (C) Summary: At a recent meeting with Ambassador, Akbar
Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways (QA),discussed QA expansion
plans for the near future, which he said now include the
purchase of 60 Boeing 777 aircraft, up from an original buy
of 20. According to Al Baker, QA will fly to Los Angeles and
Houston in 2008 after it receives the Boeing 777. Al Baker
believes that Iranians will be a large consumer of QA flights
to the U.S. and wants Embassy Doha to begin interviewing
non-resident Iranians to support this. End summary.


2. (C) At a dinner March 23 at the farm of Qatari Foreign
Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al Thani (HBJ),Akbar Al
Baker, CEO of QA, discussed QA's desire to add more direct
flights to the U.S. According to Al Baker, QA will fly to
Los Angeles and Houston in 2008 after it receives more Boeing
aircraft.


3. (C) Al Baker claimed that Iranians will compose a large
percentage of the passengers on QA's flights to the U.S. He
estimated that as many as 50 to 60 Iranians will fly on each
flight. Al Baker asked Ambassador if Embassy Doha could
begin issuing nonimmigrant visas to non-resident Iranians, in
addition to Consulate Dubai. To support this, he reported
that the Amir has agreed to 72-hour free entry for Iranians
who apply for U.S. visas. Iranians, he said, would then have
to stop once in Doha instead of twice in Dubai. Al Baker
also offered up a separate QA office to support U.S. consular
personnel working on these visa applications.


4. (C) Al Baker also believes that a permanent U.S. TSA agent
will be stationed in Doha soon. He purported that any
aircraft headed to the U.S. from Doha will be "absolutely
secure." Al Baker also recommended that a DHS immigration
and customs enforcement (ICE) officer be posted to Doha to
support this effort.


5. (S/NF) The Ambassador convened a meeting March 26 with
A/DCM, CONS, RSO, RAO and LEGATT to review Al Baker's
request. CONS explained the special interviewing requirements
for Iranians and noted that Doha is not staffed sufficiently
to handle such an increase and does not have any
Farsi-speaking officers or LES staff. RSO discussed the
special requirements needed to handle Iranian applicants,
walk-ins, and Iranian intelligence, which would likely
require an additional A/RSO. RAO and LEGATT supported the
idea as it would afford opportunities to bring more Iranians
to a USG facility. Country Team's current position is that
Embassy Doha would support becoming an Iranian
visa-processing post if adequate staff and facilities can be
provided to meet the new demand.


6. (C) Following Washington review of this matter, post
requests appropriate talking points to respond to HBJ and Al
Baker.
UNTERMEYER