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Airline’s resolve to continue operating and growing over the last three years in the face of the illegal blockade has enabled the airline to succeed during the COVID-19 crisis

The Best Airline in the World has built strong levels of trust with passengers and governments around the world for continuing to operate to take people home and its leadership on safety measures

Hamad International Airport, The Best Airport in the Middle East, leads the way with strong levels of customer service while implementing the latest technologies to optimise passenger and employee safety

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar Airways continues to succeed demonstrating the airline’s strength and resilience despite the illegal blockade imposed by neighbouring countries on 5 June 2017. The State of Qatar can be proud that it is home to not only the Best Airline in the World but also the current largest passenger airline, the largest cargo airline and the Third Best Airport in the World.

The airline’s share of the passenger and air cargo market has grown significantly over the past three months. The airline’s ability to not only continue operating but also expand to more than 30 new destinations despite the challenges of the illegal blockade set the building blocks for it to be able to continue operating a robust and agile schedule throughout this crisis. While other airlines in the region stopped services during the crisis, Qatar Airways has continued to operate a significant schedule operating over 15,000 flights to take over 1.8 million people home. The airline’s cargo division has prioritised medical and aid shipments working closely with governments and NGOs to transport over 200,000 tonnes of essential supplies to impacted regions.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “It has been a testing few years but Qatar Airways will always continue to represent our country with integrity, flying our nation’s flag proudly around the world. Our robust business planning, swift actions in the face of the crisis, customer-focused solutions and dedicated staff have enabled us to continue succeeding in the face of two unprecedented aviation events. Despite the many attempts by the blockading countries to blemish our excellent reputation, I am proud to say that my country and the airline have managed to persevere and grow over the last three years.

“Our airline like our country remains open to engagement, that is why when gave away 100,000 complimentary tickets to health care workers around the world to say thank-you for their important work during this crisis. We even allocated tickets for the blockading countries, further highlighting our noble and philanthropic intentions. I am pleased that health care professionals in all of these countries claimed the full allocation, and we look forward to taking them on a thoroughly deserved holiday as travel restrictions around the world ease.

“The Qatar Airways Group, like the nation it represents is resilient and strong. The achievements we have made despite the illegal blockade stand as a tribute to the commitment, drive and perseverance of our staff and of our nation under its young ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to whom we dedicate our work.”

Even with the challenges of the blockade, Qatar Airways has remained steadfast in its commitment to offering the very best travel experience to all its passengers. This is why the airline has continued to win awards, with more than 160 accolades received over the last three years. The national carrier of the State of Qatar was recognised in 2019 as the ‘World’s Best Airline’– for a record fifth time – it also won ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Best Business Class Seat’, and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ at the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax.

Qatar Airways Cargo has become the leader in global air freight since the illegal blockade was imposed. Its leadership has been recognised multiple times, including with it recently receiving the prestigious International Cargo Airline of the Year award at the 2020 STAT Times Awards. This follows the air freight carrier also receiving the Global Air Cargo Airline of the Year in 2019 and being runner-up for the Global Air Cargo Brand of the Year and International Cargo Airline of the Year in Africa awards. These awards are testament to the cargo carrier’s resilience in spite of the blockade and continued drive and emphasis on innovation, customer centricity, and service excellence.

The airline’s home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) has also continued to lead the industry being recently 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. It was also ranked “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. Rising from fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the ‘World’s Best Airports’ rankings since the start of its operations in 2014.

A vital pillar of the nation’s economy and global trade, HIA’s doors have remained open as it continues to operate during this crisis to take people home and support the transportation of essential supplies around the world and to Qatar. Maintaining its position as an important global trade and travel hub, even during this illegal blockade, the airport will continue with plans announced in 2019 to increase the airport’s capacity to more than 53 million passengers annually by 2022, further positioning itself as the airport of choice in the region for global travel and trade. The terminal building will be the first airport in the MENA region to achieve a 4-star Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) rating, which is the first performance-based system in the MENA region, developed for rating the green buildings and infrastructures. The terminal will also be a LEED Silver certified building with innovative measures of energy efficiency across the entire building.

Gerry’s dnata Expands Offering; Launches Line Maintenance Services in Pakistan

Karachi, Pakistan, 13 January 2022 – Gerry’s dnata, Pakistan’s leading ground services provider, has expanded its offering. The company obtained Maintenance Organization Approval from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority to provide aircraft line maintenance services to airline customers, and now offers a one-stop-shop of ground handling, cargo and technical services at the airports of Karachi (KHI), Lahore (LHE) and Islamabad (ISB). 

Gerry’s dnata’s team of professionals can provide full line maintenance support and are trained on customers’ company procedures, providing a seamless service to both passenger and cargo airlines.

The launch customer is flydubai, which Gerry’s dnata already serves at four airports in Pakistan providing a range of ramp and passenger handling services to the airline and its customers.

Syed Haris Raza, Vice President of Gerry’s dnata, said: “As Pakistan’s leading ground handler, we constantly enhance our offering to best meet the needs of our customers. We are confident that our airline partners will welcome the expansion of our portfolio and take advantage of getting quality and safe ground handling and technical services from a single provider. Our team of highly trained, seasoned professionals will deliver world-class quality and safety for our valued customers.”

Mick Hills, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Maintenance at flydubai, said: “We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with Gerry’s dnata to include line maintenance services in Pakistan. Having a single, local provider to oversee our line maintenance, as well as ground handling, will add more efficiencies to our fleet management and ensure a quicker turnaround of our aircraft.”

Gerry’s dnata have the capability to handle the following aircraft types for scheduled, unscheduled and AOG services:

  • Airbus A319/A320/A321 NEO (CFM LEAP-1A)
  • Airbus A318/319/320/321 (CFM56)
  • Airbus A319/320/321 (IAE V2500)
  • Airbus A330 (RR RB 211 Trent 700)
  • Airbus A330 (GE CF6)
  • Boeing B737-600/700/800/900 (CFM56)

Over the past year, Gerry’s dnata has continued to enhance its operations and services to deliver the highest level of quality and safety and help airline customers safely transport passengers and precious cargo to and from Pakistan. It made significant investments in infrastructure, technology and equipment, including the opening of a new, state-of- the-art cargo facility in Lahore which doubled the company’s cargo handling capacity at the airport.

Gerry’s dnata’s quality of service helped it win or retain over 20 contracts with key accounts across its network. The company also achieved prestigious industry certifications, including GDP and IATA’s ISAGO accreditation, which validate its capabilities and place the business in a market leading position.

Gerry’s dnata serves more than 20 airline customers at seven Pakistani airports. The company’s team consists of over 2,500 dedicated aviation professionals who assist more than seven million passengers and handle 150,000 tons of cargo annually.

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Contact
Gabor Vasarhelyi
Public Relations, dnata
gabor.vasarhelyi@dnata.com