Qatar Airways records ‘best' baggage performance

Qatar Airways clocked ‘best-in-class’ baggage performance in fiscal 2022/23 with a "low mishandling rate” of only 0.72 items per 1,000 passengers, the national airline said in a report.Annually, the team is serving over 35mn passengers and handles more than 57mn pieces of baggage, Qatar Airways said in its latest annual report."All the hard work has resulted in the best-in-class baggage performance and enhanced customer experience,” Qatar Airways noted.Qatar Aviation Services (QAS), which is Qatar Airways Group’s ground-handling organisation, achieved an "efficient” on-time delivery of cargo, exceeding 2.1mn tonnes per year with an average growth rate of 2% a year.On the ramp, the QAS team maintained an operational capability of more than 99% for over 2,600 motorised and over 5,800 non-motorised units of ground servicing equipment.Established in 2000 and headquartered at Hamad International Airport (HIA), QAS provides premium end-to-end ground services to international airlines, heads of state and VIPs, private fleets, executive charter flights, and cargo operators using state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge technologies.A member of the IATA Ground Handling Partnership, QAS proactively participates in a variety of world-leading technical groups, such as the IATA Ground Operations Manual, Load Control and Messaging, Ground Service Equipment and Environment and Airside Safety Group, implementing recommendations to improve and enhance safety standards in the aviation industry.In August last year, QAS announced its partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to become the first ground handler globally to join the new expansion of the IATA Environmental Assessment Programme (IEnvA) for ground service providers, playing an instrumental role in helping HIA gain its world-class standing as an environmental leader.Through its participation, it aims to meet and exceed the highest environmental standards whilst developing future expansion strategies.Between November 18 and December 19, QAS achieved a significant milestone by being the sole ground-handler during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 event, the first in the history of world cup tournaments.During the FIFA World Cup, QAS successfully handled more than 200 flight operators between scheduled and private flights.The team managed more than 25,000 movements between arrival and departure with 99.4% on-time performance rate, this includes handling 3.7mn passengers, with nearly 54,000 passengers with restricted mobility.Additionally, QAS FIFA World Cup operations saw more than 2.9mn items of baggage handled with as low as 0.12 baggage missed per 1,000 passengers and more than 3,000 operations segmented between private jets, freighters, and charter flights, Qatar Airways said.