QATAR AIRWAYS IS THE ONLY WORLD AIRLINE TO SERVE ALL FOUR NORDIC CAPITAL CITIES
(Posted 28th July 2020)
Resumption of three weekly Helsinki flights will see Qatar Airways operate a total of 22 weekly flights to the Nordic countries
The Nordic countries are a strategically important market for Qatar Airways with the airline providing uninterrupted services to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm throughout the crisis
The Helsinki route will be operated by the airline’s modern, fuel-efficient Airbus A350-900 offering 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy
Qatar Airways is delighted to resume three weekly flights to Helsinki on Wednesday, 29 July, becoming the only Gulf carrier to serve four Nordic capitals. The resumption of Helsinki flights will see the national carrier of the State of Qatar operate 22 weekly flights to the Nordics, with daily flights to Oslo and Stockholm and five weekly flights to Copenhagen.
The airline’s mix of modern fuel-efficient aircraft has meant its network has never fallen below 30 destinations throughout this crisis and has enabled the airline to adapt its plans and quickly resume routes to rebuild its global network. By optimizing its mix of aircraft and grounding its A380 fleet, the airline continues to fly only the right sized aircraft on all routes to the Nordics, reducing its environmental impact by offering sensible and responsible capacity to meet both passenger and cargo demand.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are glad to see Helsinki return to our network, a significant indicator of the recovery of the Nordic travel market. With a total of 22 weekly flights to the region we are delighted to be the first Gulf carrier to offer flights to the four Nordic capitals of Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. While the drop in air travel demand due to Covid-19 forced us to temporarily suspend services to Helsinki, we are proud to have never stopped flying to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. As we pass the worst of the crisis, we look forward to increasing our services to the Nordic region to support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region.”
During the pandemic, in addition to scheduled passenger services, Qatar Airways Cargo have also operated a large number of scheduled freighters, charters and freight-only passenger aircraft to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Helsinki to support Nordic exporters and transport essential medical supplies and PPE to the region. With the resumption of passenger flights to Helsinki, the airline will operate 39 weekly flights to the Nordic region, providing more than 1400 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way.
Qatar Airways continues to lead the recovery of international air travel. By the start of August, the airline’s network will expand to close to 500 weekly flights to over 75 destinations. Passengers from the Nordics can connect via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport to the largest and broadest network in the region with over 30 destinations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East
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 the Americas, 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. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented onboard and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.
To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has also extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers. The airline will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination. The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will be valid for two years from the date of issuance. For full terms and conditions visit qatarairways.com/RelyOnUs.
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 sanitizers 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.
In East Africa has Qatar Airways returned to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro while expecting to resume services to Nairobi when the country’s international airport in Nairobi reopens on the 01st of August.
Flights to Entebbe in Uganda remain suspended as the Ugandan government has still not decided when the airport in Entebbe will reopen despite growing pressure from the travel and aviation fraternity and the population at large.
