Qatar Airways announced the resumption of three weekly flights to the commercial and cultural hub of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa from 16 July 2020. Services to Addis Ababa will be operated by an Airbus A320, offering 12 seats in Business class, 132 in Economy class, the airways stated in a statement sent to 2merkato.com.
In addition to resuming flights in Addis Ababa, Qatar Airways recently resumed flights to four key destinations in Africa earlier in July; Tunis, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, and Dar es Salaam.
As one of the only global airlines to have maintained a significant schedule throughout this crisis, Qatar Airways said it is uniquely positioned to monitor trends in traffic flow and passenger bookings. The airline has scheduled these flights to connect seamlessly via its award-winning hub, Hamad International Airport, with key US and European destinations, including Washington, Dallas, London, Frankfurt, and Paris.
Bennet Stephens, said: “We are pleased to resume flights to Addis Ababa, one of the region’s key commercial and cultural hubs. Our passengers can travel with confidence onboard our rapidly expanding network throughout the region as we continue to lead the way in terms of safety and reliability across the skies.
“Our extensive network of flights during these challenging times has ensured we have kept up to date with the latest in international airport procedures and implemented the most advanced safety & hygiene measures onboard our aircraft and in Hamad International Airport, recently voted the Best Airport in the Middle East for the sixth year in a row. We have been the airline passengers can rely on during this crisis and we will continue to ensure the safest and most reliable experience for our passengers as global travel resumes.”
Qatar Airways has established a strong relationship with Ethiopia over the years as it began its scheduled services to Addis Ababa in September 2013, it said in the statement, with a strong presence and community support in the region. Qatar Airways offers an excellent gateway with prodigious connections via our home and hub in Hamad International Airport to an exciting range of business and leisure destinations across North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Qatar Airways has further enhanced its onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew, the statement read. The airline has introduced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses, and a new protective gown that is fitted over their uniforms. A modified service that reduces interactions between passengers and the crew inflight has also been introduced.
Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers are now provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a ziplock pouch, they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel. The airline has also introduced disposable face shields for adults and children. Passengers traveling from Hamad International Airport (HIA) will receive their face shields at the check-in counters, whereas, at other destinations, the face shields will be distributed at the boarding gates.
To ensure travelers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has 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.
Globally, Qatar Airways relaunched 11 destinations on 1 July including Bali Denpasar; Beirut; Belgrade; Berlin; Boston; Edinburgh; Larnaca; Los Angeles; Prague; Washington DC; and Zagreb. This marks the largest number of route resumptions in a single day since Qatar Airways started to rebuild its network in what the airline has dubbed ‘Takeoff Wednesday’. By mid-July, its network will expand to more than 70 destinations worldwide.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organization Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qatar Airways is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title, which is recognized as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.
Source: Qatar Airways Press Release sent to 2merkato.com
