Qatar Airways marks fifth year anniversary of its service from Doha to Maputo, Mozambique

Mozambique, known for its white sand beaches, turquoise waters and world-class snorkelling, is renowned as Africa’s best-kept secret. Qatar Airways’ service to the capital city of Maputo, launched in 2012, offered passengers a new gateway to this coastal paradise.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “In the  five years, Maputo has demonstrated just how attractive it is as a tourist destination. An excellent example of an underserved destination, this hidden African gem has offered many tourists a truly memorable and authentic experience. We are delighted to be celebrating five years of service on this route, and we look forward to many more celebrations on the African continent.”

Qatar Airways operates three flights a week to Maputo with an Airbus A330 aircraft, featuring 24 seats in Business Class and 236 seats in Economy Class. Passengers are able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system, Oryx One, which offers up to 4,000 entertainment options. Business Class passengers can also enjoy flatbed seats as well as a dine-on-demand option, offering a world-class standard of comfort on board.

Africa is also a key market for Qatar Airways Cargo, and the introduction of passenger flights to Maputo five years ago has greatly benefitted local trade in Mozambique. Imports into Maputo consist mainly of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and supplies, electric equipment and machinery and household goods. The cargo carrier provides over 30 tonnes of belly space on the A330 flights every week to the Mozambique’s capital and largest city.

Earlier this month, the airline also celebrated its one-year anniversary of operating direct service to Windhoek, Namibia, and it prepares to celebrate its first year of operations to the Seychelles towards the end of the year.

Qatar Airways operates to 20 destinations in Africa, including Addis Ababa, Algiers, Cape Town, Casablanca, Durban, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Marrakech, Nairobi and Zanzibar, among others.

The award-winning airline has received a number of accolades this year, including Airline of the Year by the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which was held at the Paris Air Show. This is the fourth time that Qatar Airways has been given this global recognition as the world’s best airline. In addition to being voted ‘World’s Best Airline’ by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’

The airline’s hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), is the first airport in the Middle East to receive a 5-Star rating from Skytrax. The 5-Star Airport rating is only awarded to airports that achieve the highest overall Quality Performance, recognising the provision of excellent facilities for travellers and high quality airport staff service. Only six airports in the world hold this prestigious title, including Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo-Haneda and Munich. Passengers transfer through our hub in as little as 45 minutes, seamlessly connecting to more than 150 destinations on Qatar Airways’ network.

Qatar Airways has added many new exciting destinations to its network in 2017, including Nice, Dublin and Prague, to name a just a few.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 20th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents.

Flight Schedule:

Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday

Doha (DOH) to Mozambique (MPM) QR1361 departs: 02:30 arrives: 10:00

Mozambique (MPM) to Doha (DOH) QR1362 departs: 11:30 arrives: 21:30

About Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017/18, including St. Petersburg, Russia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Canberra, Australia and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently named ‘Airline of the Year’ by the 2017 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message – Going Places Together.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest international cargo carrier, serves more than 60 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally with more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes eight Airbus A330 freighters, 12 Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747-8 freighter.

SOURCE: Qatar Airways

For further information, please contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200