Qatar Airways adds 19 weekly flights to India to ferry essential goods

Amid the coronavirus pandemic that has grounded a majority of planes across the world, Qatar Airways Cargo on Thursday (April 2) said it has started 19 weekly flights between Doha and India from Wednesday to get goods such as pharmaceutical products using its passenger aircraft.

“These flights will be in addition to the cargo carriers existing freighter services and have been introduced as a result of strong demand for Indian products such as pharmaceuticals and fresh produce,” a press statement by the airline said.

The airline will operate freight-only passenger aircraft to Delhi (3 weekly flights), Hyderabad (2 weekly flights), Bengaluru (3 weekly flights), Chennai (4 weekly flights), Mumbai (5 weekly flights), and Kolkata (2 weekly flights).

“The addition of these 19-weekly belly-hold services will see the airline’s weekly cargo capacity to India grow from 2,120 tonnes 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,” the statement said.

“We continue to see strong demand for exports and imports, particularly the transportation of essential medical supplies manufactured in India that are pivotal to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said.