Qatar Airways Cargo expanded its network in early December by starting service to Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and Guangzhou, China. All three destinations are being served by A330 freighters, with twice-weekly service to Lagos and Accra, and three times a week to Guangzhou.
The Doha-based Qatar Airways took delivery of two A330-200Fs from Airbus in late November and early December, adding them to its existing fleet of three A330-200F aircraft (leased from Bank of China leasing) and seven 777Fs.
The Lagos route will cater to the city’s high-value exports of petroleum and petroleum products, as well as cocoa and rubber. The city imports textiles, manufactured goods, food, machinery and transport equipment. Major exports from Accra include agricultural produce, oil, gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds and horticultural products, while imports include capital equipment and refined petroleum.
The new China route, which began Dec. 4, is the first cargo service between Guangzhou and Qatar Airways’ Doha hub, and also the carrier’s first scheduled cargo flight to South China outside of Hong Kong. Qatar selected Guangzhou because of its geographical location, but also for the advanced facilities, equipment and support at Baiyun International Airport’s International Cargo Terminal 1.
Guangzhou is a major manufacturing city, exporting high-tech products, bio-tech, aerospace technology, software and automobiles, while importing garments, auto parts, fashion accessories, pharmaceuticals and perishables.
Qatar also expanded its service to Erbil, Iraq; Kolkata and Delhi; and Istanbul, Turkey. Additionally one more frequency was added on the Houston-Liége-Doha run, and more frequencies are expected for Brussels, Chennai, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Shanghai.