Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar, will on Saturday, 3 October 2020 resume services to three key destinations in South Africa.
The restored services to South African cities – Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg – will be operated by a mix of the airline’s “modern fuel-efficient” Airbus A350and Boeing 787 aircraft.
With the addition of 19 weekly flights to South Africa, Qatar Airways will operate 63 weekly flights to 17 destinations across the continent including Accra, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Entebbe, Kigali, Kilimanjaro, Lagos, Maputo, Mogadishu, Nairobi, Tunis, Windhoek and Zanzibar.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar al-Baker said: “We are delighted to resume flights to South Africa further expanding our network in the region. We know many passengers across the world and in South Africa have been eagerly awaiting the resumption of scheduled international flights and we look forward to helping reunite them with their families and loved ones. Qatar Airways has worked closely with the government of South Africa throughout this crisis operating 28 special charter flights to help take over 11,500 South Africans and international travellers’ home.
“With the most international flights from South Africa and one of the largest global networks, passengers travelling to or from South Africa can enjoy more flexible travel options with seamless connections via the most connected and Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport. Passengers travelling on our Qsuite equipped Airbus A350 can also enjoy the most private business class in the industry with sliding privacy partitions, lie-flat double bed options and world-class entertainment with more than 4,000 options to choose from.
“We have clearly demonstrated an ongoing reliability for customers with our generous travel policies, our comprehensive safety procedures and our continued commitment to sustainable flying. Despite global challenges, we have always been there for our passengers and this resilience continues to inspire confidence that Qatar Airways remains a strong and reliable partner. The airline currently operates over 650 weekly flights to more than 90 destinations across the globe including 27 destinations in Asia-Pacific, 31 in Europe, 12 in the Middle East and nine in North America.”
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Qatar Airways’ network has never fallen below 30 destinations with continuous services to five continents. The airline’s strategic investment in a variety of fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft, including the largest fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft, has enabled it to continue flying, perfectly positioning the carrier to lead the sustainable recovery of international travel.
As the airline’s network rebuild continues, it will remain focused on providing seamless, safe and reliable connectivity to its millions of passengers and ensuring the airline continues to earn the trust of passengers every time they choose to fly with Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways operations are not dependent on any specific aircraft type. The airline’s variety of modern fuel-efficient aircraft has meant it can continue flying by offering the right capacity in each market. Due to Covid-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline has taken the decision to ground its fleet of Airbus A380s as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market. The airline’s fleet of 49 Airbus A350 and 30 Boeing 787 are the ideal choice for the most strategically important long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, and Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.
Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew include the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers. Business class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat provides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator.
Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations including London, Paris, and Frankfurt.
Qatar Airways’ home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), has implemented stringent cleaning procedures and applied social distancing measures throughout its terminals. Passenger touchpoints are sanitized every 10-15 minutes and boarding gates and bus gate counters are cleaned after each flight.
In addition, hand sanitisers are provided at immigration and security screening points.
HIA was recently ranked “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. HIA was also voted the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the fifth year in a row.
