File picture used for representation
Doha: Qatar Airways Cargo has set a new record of operating most number of flights to several global destinations in one day.
The award-winning international cargo carrier operated 136 cargo flights to over 50 destinations worldwide. “Qatar Airways Cargo set a new record, operating 136 cargo flights in one single day to 51 destinations around the world.
This included 75 freighter flights and 61 freight-only passenger flights,” said Qatar Airways on its official twitter account on Thursday. With global air freight capacity declining, Qatar Airways Cargo has increased operations to ensure the continuity of global trade and movement of essential medical and aid supplies. The airline continues to operate a significant cargo schedule with approximately 100 flights per day.
During the past month the cargo operator has worked closely with governments and NGOs to transport over 100,000 tonnes of medical and aid supplies to impacted regions around the world on both scheduled and charter services, the equivalent of roughly 1,000 fully loaded Boeing 777 freighters. Freight charters are being operated to multiple countries including China, India, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.
The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 21 Boeing 777 freighters and five Airbus A330 freighters. To ensure the safety of its crew and cargo, the carrier has implemented special procedures for ground handling including adherence to social distancing guidelines to ensure there is minimum contact between staff.
All of its freighters and passenger aircraft are equipped with face masks, gloves and hand sanitisers for crew and all the crew and staff are screened regularly. The Cargo carrier has also joined International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) in Australia. It has partnered with the Australian Government to restore critical global supply chains through the IFAM.
The IFAM is an initiative by the Australian Government that has been launched to help restore critical global supply chains for high-value Australian agricultural and fisheries producers, who have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 containment measures around the world. Through this initiative, the Australian Government is partially offsetting the cost of airfreight – reducing airfreight and freight forwarding costs for exporters and ensuring businesses and exporters in the country can swiftly transport their produce on flights and to international customers.
Through IFAM’s mechanism, Qatar Airways Cargo will offer block space capacity and charters for Australian exports like seafood, meat, dairy and horticulture such as premium fruits, packaged salads and vegetables on flights from Melbourne, Sydney and Perth with more departure points to be added based on demand and freight optimisation.
The exports will be transported on Qatar Airways network to the Middle East including Qatar and many destinations in Europe. On the import side, the flights will bring in medicines, medical supplies and equipment to support Australia’s COVID-19 fight.
