June 11, 2020 TnH Global

IATA lauds Qatar Airways’ Dedicated Mission to Take People Home

Qatar Airways’ share of international traffic more than triple its nearest competitor in April

New independent data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearly reaffirms Qatar Airways as the airline that worked diligently to take people home safely and reliably during this crisis. Qatar Airways’ over 1.3 billion revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) during the month of April accounted for 17.8% of the global market, over triple its nearest competitor and more than the next four airlines combined. Qatar Airways Cargo also continues to lead its sector with more than 900 million cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK) accounting for 7.2% of the global cargo market, ensuring much-needed airfreight capacity to support global trade and the transportation of essential medical and aid supplies to impacted regions.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the global aviation industry, the national carrier of the State of Qatar has remained focused on its fundamental mission of taking people home. Qatar Airways has become the largest carrier in the world flying over 50 million kilometres to repatriate over 1.8 million passengers on over 15,000 flights during the crisis. The airline has also worked closely with governments, and companies around the world to operate over 220 charters and extra sector flights. Qatar Airways has accumulated unrivalled experience of how to safely and reliably carry passengers during these uncertain times, having taken more people home on more flights to more destinations than any other airline.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: “I welcome these independent statistics from IATA which clearly show our airline’s resilience during this crisis and unwavering commitment to our passengers to reunite them with their loved ones, and our cargo customers to continue transporting their goods to where they need to be.

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.