Qatar Airways has now resumed services to 100 flight destinations around the world, after initially scaling back operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline has announced the resumption of services to Sofia, Bulgaria, via Bucharest, Romania — marking the 100th destination to be added to the airline’s global network since the COVID-19 outbreak.
The three weekly flights to Sofia recommenced on 16 October, and have expanded the airline’s network services to more than 700 weekly flights across six continents.
Qatar Airways has also increased or resumed flights to the following destinations:
- Copenhagen (increased to 10 weekly flights from 12 October);
- Madrid (increased to 10 weekly flights from 12 October);
- ‘Manchester (increased to 17 weekly flights from 12 October);
- Singapore (increasing to double daily flights from 25 October); and
- Stockholm (increased to 10 weekly flights from 12 October).
“As one of the few airlines to have continuously flown throughout the pandemic to take passengers home safely and reliably, we are proud to reach this significant milestone in the rebuild of our network,” said the business’ chief executive, Akbar Al Baker.
“Our focus is not only on restarting destinations but also operating as many frequencies as possible to provide our passengers the flexibility to travel when they want.
“With more than 700 weekly frequencies currently, and plans to increase our network to more than 125 destinations by the end of 2020, our passengers will enjoy more options to travel when they want across the globe, safely and reliably.”
Qatar Airways has claimed it has flown over 175 million kilometres since the onset of the pandemic, servicing over 2.3 million passengers on over 37,000 flights.
The airline has also operated more than 400 charter flights across the globe, which it said has enabled it to “maintain a finger on the pulse” of global passenger flows, particularly in non-core markets.
Qatar Airways has attributed its ongoing activity throughout the pandemic to its investment in a variety of fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft, including the largest fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft.
The airline revealed that by the end of 2020, it expected to rebuild its network to more than 125 destinations, including 20 in Africa, 11 in the Americas, 41 in the Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe and 15 in the Middle East.
However, the airline has continued to ground its larger fleet of Airbus A380s, stating it is “not commercially or environmentally justifiable” to operate such aircraft in the current market.
