Qatar Airways is celebrating becoming the largest cargo airline in the world (excluding express operator UPS) and its performance this year, despite disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing blockade placed on the country by some of its neighbours.
According to IATA statistics, Qatar Cargo last year became the largest cargo airline in the world, moving up from second place in 2018 as its traffic increased by 0.5% year on year to 12.7bn freight tonne kms and many of its rivals recorded declines.
It achieved despite Qatar under blockade from the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – amongst others – for the past three years over allegations the country has supported terrorism. This included a ban on entering the airspace of the countries joining the blockade.
The airline said that its share of the cargo market had continued to grow over the last three months despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Qatar Cargo said that it has recently worked with governments and non-governmental organisations to transport around 200,000 tonnes of medical and aid shipments to regions affected by Covid-19.
The carrier also recently added 30 new destinations to its network, enabling it to transport cargo globally on scheduled freighter flights, as well as in the belly of passenger aircraft.
Qatar Airways Cargo highlighted the receipt of numerous awards in 2019 for its airline business and Hamad International Airport (HIA) hub, which prove its capabilities as a resilient airfreight leader. In light of this, it continues to demonstrate “innovation, customer centricity and service excellence”.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: “It has been a testing few years but Qatar Airways will always continue to represent our country with integrity, flying our nation’s flag proudly around the world.
“Our robust business planning, swift actions in the face of the crisis, customer-focused solutions and dedicated staff have enabled us to continue succeeding in the face of two unprecedented aviation events.
“The Qatar Airways Group, like the nation it represents [that it] is resilient and strong.”
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