Qatar Airways Cargo currently operates freighters to London’s Stansted Airport and also transports cargo on passenger flights to and from Birmingham, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Manchester. With the new freighter service, the carrier’s total cargo capacity out of the UK increases to more than 1,500 tonnes each week, the airline has said in a press statement.
The new freighter service departs weekly from Doha on Saturdays and returns via Basel.
Ulrich Ogiermann, Qatar Airways chief officer - Cargo, said: “The commencement of freighter services to London Heathrow marks our sixth new freighter destination for 2017 and boosts our current belly-hold capacity available on 72 passenger flights to the UK every week. We are expanding our network globally, offering customers direct access to major trade markets such as the UK via our state-of-the-art fully-automated hub in Doha.”
The cargo carrier offers air freight services to the principal industries in the UK, including electronics and telecom, vehicles and auto parts, engineering, information technology, pharmaceuticals, biotech and health, and perishables, providing “speed of delivery, flexibility and security for high-value products”, the statement notes, adding that “customers globally will benefit from more capacity to transport their cargo to London”.
Qatar Airways Cargo recently commenced five new freighter destinations to the Americas and Asia: Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Quito, Miami and Phnom Penh, while also increasing frequencies to Brussels, Basel and Hong Kong “in response to growing air freight demand in these regions”. The cargo carrier has seen a 21% increase in tonnage from 2015 to 2016, despite the air cargo industry remaining competitive.
In February this year, Qatar Airways Cargo was honoured with the ‘Global Cargo Airline of the Year’ award at the Air Cargo Africa event.
The new freighter service departs weekly from Doha on Saturdays and returns via Basel.
A Qatar Airways Cargo Airbus A330 freighter has touched down at London’s Heathrow Airport, marking the start of freighter services to the carrier’s second airport in London.
