Qatar Airways Cargo starts freighter service to Almaty

Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777F — Photo: © Peter Bakema

Qatar Airways Cargo has started its new scheduled freighter service to Almaty, Kazakhstan. With the latest addition of the Kazakh city, the cargo carrier’s freighter network in continental Europe has increased to 16 destinations.

The twice-weekly flights from Doha to Almaty are operated by the airline’s Boeing 777 freighter aircraft. On the return flight, the freighters arrive into Doha via a stop in Hong Kong.

2018 was a great year for us and we are excited to launch our second freighter destination in 2019, just 10 days after the launch of freighter services to Guadalajara, Mexico. The new addition further strengthens our global freighter network while expanding our footprint in Europe, which is a key market for air freight. Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux

Almaty is a key financial centre and the largest metropolis in Kazakhstan. Major imports include general cargo, fashion and high-tech products. Several other cargo carriers, including Lufthansa Cargo, Turkish Cargo and Hong Kong Airlines Cargo, also operate freighter flights to and from Almaty Airport.

Earlier this month, Qatar Airways Cargo inaugurated flight service to Guadalajara in Mexico.

Qatar Airways Cargo is one of the world’s largest international air cargo carriers as the freight branch of Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar. The cargo fleet includes two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 15 Boeing 777 freighters and eight Airbus A330-200 freighters. Last year, the carrier took delivery of two brand new Boeing 777 freighter aircraft and signed a Letter of Intend (LoI) for five more. Its order book now consists of eight 777F and eight A330-200F.