Qatar Airways Cargo introduces freighter flights to Australia
Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s leading air cargo carriers, announced that it has introduced freighter flights to and from Australia from April 2.
These freighters complement the airline’s existing belly-hold cargo services and were added as a result of a strong demand for Australian products such as pharmaceuticals and fresh produce, said the airline in a press release.
The airline will operate the twice-weekly freighters to Melbourne and Perth with a tech stop at Singapore, adding 200 tonnes of main deck cargo capacity each week, each way. This brings the combined weekly capacity in and out of Australia to more than 550 tonnes.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “During this time, we are seeing soaring demand for supplies nationwide, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the supply chain. We are pleased to provide these additional services to bring essential commodities, fresh produce, food products, and medical supplies to Australia as we face this public health crisis.”
“We will also be transporting goods to other countries around the world, to meet the demand for Australian products, further supporting the local export industry. We are thankful to the Australian Government for their flexibility in allowing Qatar Airways to continue supporting worldwide trade connectivity by utilising passenger aircraft to carry freight only while passenger operations remain restricted,” he added.
Qatar Airways remains one of the few combination international airlines, transporting both passengers and belly-hold cargo on major routes. The airline is operating dedicated freighters to serve Australia at this time, to meet increased demand for supplies.
Qatar Airways has also added additional air freight capacity to and from India with the utilisation of passenger aircraft carrying freight-only from April 1.
These flights are in addition to the cargo carrier’s existing freighter services and have been introduced as a result of strong demand for Indian products such as pharmaceuticals and fresh produce.
The addition of these 19-weekly belly-hold services will see the airline’s weekly cargo capacity to India grow from 2,120 to 2,535 tonnes. The belly-hold cargo flights will be operated on a turnaround basis without any cabin crew members or passengers on-board.
