Qatar Airways announced that Abidjan has joined its global network as its debut flight to the largest city in Cote dIvoire landed at Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport earlier today.

Qatar Airways added in a statement that with three weekly flights, the service between Doha and Abidjan via Accra will be operated by the airlines state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, along with capacity of up to 15 tons of cargo.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive HE Akbar Al Baker, said: "Launching flights to Abidjan, Cote dIvoire - our fourth new destination in Africa since the start of the pandemic, after having recently launched Abuja in Nigeria; Accra in Ghana; and Luanda in Angola is a significant step in our African growth. This is testament to our commitment to the African continent where we now operate over 100 weekly flights to 25 destinations in 18 countries via our home and hub, Hamad International Airport."

"At Qatar Airways, being there for our passengers, trade partners and corporate customers has been our major focus since the start of the pandemic. We thank the government of Cte dIvoire for their support to launch these flights, and we look forward to working closely with our partners here to grow this route and support the recovery of tourism and trade in this region. As global travel recovers in 2021, we look forward to further expanding our network and offering more connections to and from Africa," Al Baker added.

The launch of Abidjan also supports increased demand for trade between Cote dIvoire and destinations on the Qatar Airways network such as Paris, Beirut and many points in the Indian subcontinent. With up to 15 tons of cargo capacity on the aircraft per flight, Qatar Airways Cargo will play a key role in facilitating key exports from Cote dIvoire.

Qatar Airways travelers from Cote dIvoire can now enjoy new baggage allowances ranging from 46 Kg for Economy Class split over two pieces and 64 Kg split over two pieces in Business Class. This initiative is designed to offer passengers more flexibility and comfort when travelling on board Qatar Airways. For more information please visit https://www.qatarairways.com/en-qa/baggage/allowance.html

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the aviation industry and, despite this, Qatar Airways never ceased operations and worked diligently to take people home safely and reliably throughout the crisis. The airline has also added seven new destinations in the past 12 months including San Francisco and Seattle in the US, Abuja, Accra and Luanda in Africa, and Brisbane and Cebu in Asia Pacific.

Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by international air transport rating organization, Skytrax. This follows HIAs recent success as the first and only airport in the Middle East to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented on board and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named Worlds Best Airline by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax. It was also named Best Airline in the Middle East, Worlds Best Business Class, and Best Business Class Seat, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 40 destinations including Milan, New York, Paris and Singapore.

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. In addition to this, Qatar Airways home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) was ranked the Best Airport in the Middle East for the sixth consecutive year and rose to Third Best Airport in the World by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020.

(QNA)