Stansted Airport welcomes Qatar Airways to global cargo network
Qatar Airways Cargo will operate a dedicated Boeing 777 freighter aircraft to fly five weekly services to Stansted, the UK’s third busiest cargo airport, as the airline continues its growth strategy to increase its global reach and the number of destinations it serves.
Welcoming the announcement, Graeme Ferguson, MAG’s commercial director for Cargo, said: “Stansted Airport and MAG are delighted to welcome the announcement of Qatar Airways' new five times weekly scheduled flights to its hub in Doha, the first regular service by one of the Middle East’s major carriers. This is fantastic news for businesses and exporters from across London and the eastern region as Qatar provide worldwide freight connectivity and access to new markets and outstanding five-star service.
“Qatar has recognised the first class operational standards offered by Stansted Airport as well as its excellent surface access links. Qatar Airways' new operation represents its first scheduled freighter operation into the UK and we look forward to working with an airline which recognises the fundamental importance of air freight in its business and which has enormous potential for future growth in the UK and worldwide.
“As the only major London gateway with spare capacity to support growth and economic activity, MAG sees this announcement as a key development in its strategy for developing Stansted Airport into a thriving cargo airport and continuing Stansted's return to growth.”
Ulrich Ogiermann, Qatar Airways chief cargo officer, announcing the new Stansted service as well as flights to Hyderabad (India) and Zaragoza (Spain), said: “Our goal is to be a world-class air cargo service provider and in order to achieve that goal, we need to constantly increase frequencies and expand our number of destinations, so that our customers can benefit from our global reach.
“The addition of these new freighter routes clearly represents yet another milestone in Qatar Airways’ growth strategy, and on top of this, we will take delivery of three new freighter aircrafat in the course of 2014: two B777F and one A330-F.”
Stansted is one of the largest freight hubs in the UK and home to an international cargo operation that transports over 210,000 tonnes of goods and 30,000 tonnes of mail to destinations in nearly every continent, including the Americas, the Far East, Africa and the Middle East.
The airport's status as a major international cargo facility is reinforced by the number of industry leaders that have already chosen to operate from the airport – Asiana, FedEx, Martinair, Royal Mail, Panalpina, Silkway, Atlantic Airways, Titan, TNT and UPS. In addition, Pegasus provide cargo capacity on passengers services to Turkey.
