One place for fresh news information based on Qatar and World Cup 2022
Few airlines that Qatar Airways has invested in are asked to fly on its behalf during the grand tournament
All the parties involved in the organization of the World Cup are giving their best to enable a safe and smooth trip for their visitors. In order to ensure better management of the air traffic during the time of the major sporting event, several Qatar Airways routes will be temporarily suspended, noted Akbar Al Baker, CEO of the airline.
Its A350 aircraft was grounded due to a dispute with Airbus. That causes the shortage of seat capacity for the November and December tournament.
“We have to withdraw flights from many destinations to relieve capacity”, stated Al Baker. Qatar Airways has asked the national carrier of the largest stakeholder in International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, to allow several airlines to fly on its behalf during the Cup. Qatar has been investing in those companies earlier, so the proposal seems fair-dealing.
The big three Gulf carriers – Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad will provide daytime transfer routes to Doha during the global event.
‘Misled’ boycott calls are not a concern for Qatar Airways: Akbar Al Baker
The carrier is aspiring to use more alternative fuels, commonly known as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), to reach its long-term emission goals and put an end to climate change concerns. Nevertheless, producing alternative fuels is not the main focus for oil companies that currently benefit greatly from a rise in commodity prices.
Al-Baker emphasized that the emission percentage of greenhouse gases is only around 2%, so the general public must be aware that they shouldn’t be the target of the global warming problem.
“People are forgetting that shipping does much worse harm than us”, he suggested.
Last year, International Air Transport Association (IATA) endorsed a resolution requiring the global aviation sector to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
According to IATA Director-General Willie Walsh, other businesses will step in if the refiners show to be unable to complete the job.
New hirings are in sight in Qatar Airways
The national carrier is on a mission to hire 900 new pilots to support the growth strategy plan. The decision was raised after the QA chief brought out worries about the lack of labor.
The statement came in Doha during the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) and the 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the IATA.
Willie Walsh noted they have received 20,000 applications for 900 additional pilots needed. He added that 25,000 people applied for positions as cabin crew on an open day for recruitment held by the company. Al-Baker recognized that as the “high interest generated by the airline”.
Al-Baker stated that the complete air transport deal between the State of Qatar and the European Union (EU) is a win-win situation for all parties involved.
“Services are important for Europe as for us to make Hamad International Airport a hub of the world”, he said.
He stressed that over the course of almost five years, the deal will “gradually increase frequencies”.
Thanks to the aviation agreement, all EU airlines will be able to operate direct flights from any airport in the EU to Qatar, and vice versa.
Among other things, strong regulations on open and fair competition will ensure a level playing field.
