Already one of the "Big Three" Gulf carriers in terms of passenger traffic, Qatar Airways is intent on becoming a much larger player in the cargo business.
At a press event this week, the Doha-based carrier unveiled plans to build a new airfreight terminal at Hamad International Airport (DOH) that will be able to handle 4.4 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2018. Future expansions, the carrier said, could possibly boost the total capacity to 7 million tonnes per year. Currently, the airport can handle about 1.4 million tonnes annually.
Ulrich Ogiermann, head of cargo at Qatar, said the expansion "will put Qatar Airways into another league" and significantly improve efficiency at DOH, which is already a relatively young facility, opening in 2014 at a cost of US$1 billion.
"Our cargo capability is a major component in driving our group success and growth, and it will remain a focus of our expansion in the coming years," said Qatar"™s CEO Akbar Al Baker.
According to the Freight 50 listings, published in September by Air Cargo World, Qatar ranked No. 10 on the list of top cargo carriers by tonnage (1.16 million) and No. 11 by freight tonne kilometers (6.04 billion), based on 2014 data from IATA. This week, however, Qatar claimed it has risen to the third spot on IATA"™s list, in terms of FTKs carried, excluding the integrators…
