Qatar Airways to Host World Cargo Symposium in Doha

Doha, February 14 (QNA) - Qatar Airways is set to host the world's largest meeting of air freight industry executives, airline officials and other stakeholders next month at the 7th World Cargo Symposium in Doha. This year's symposium organised annually by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will be held in Qatar's capital from March 12 to 14, Qatar's national carrier said Thursday The symposium, which will see the assembly of representatives from the global cargo sector, will focus on actions for sustainability and the role of the Middle East in the growing air cargo industry. Qatar Airways is the host airline of the conference, while its freight subsidiary Qatar Airways Cargo is the main sponsor. Following the success of last year's symposium held in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said he was delighted IATA decided to bring its annual conference to Doha for the 2013 meeting. "It is fitting that our industry colleagues from across the global cargo industry will descend on Qatar, a country which will soon have a brand new multi-billion dollar airport showcasing the best facilities anywhere in the world," said Al Baker. "The Doha forum will be a great opportunity for debate, discussion and decisions. We look forward to providing delegates with a glimpse of the new Hamad International Airport, just weeks before it opens its doors to the first airline customers. Cargo will play a pivotal role at the new airport as purpose-built cargo facilities will soon be ready for operations." Al Baker added that the conference takes place at a time when the global freighter industry faces new and increasing challenges in a highly demanding environment. "Worldwide, the cargo industry is undergoing a revamp as operators reassess their current operations and look at new ways of reaching out to emerging markets," said the Qatar Airways CEO. "The freighter industry is facing changing demands in the industrial and private sectors as we see an increase in activity and investment worldwide. "Here in Doha for example, the demand for increased freighter services inbound has seen our own airline increase its capacity, as well as reaching out to new destinations as the demand for outbound cargo around the world also intensifies." Last year Qatar Airways added 10 destinations to its worldwide cargo network, including Amman, Budapest, Erbil and Karachi. "Increasingly, we need to look at how we prepare our employees and our stakeholders for these changing times, the impact of air freight on other sectors, our environmental footprint and the effect of our cargo operations on other global economies," said Al Baker. The new cargo terminal at Hamad International Airport with state-of-the-art infrastructure will be able to facilitate 1.4 million tonnes of freight each year, continuing to provide a world-class cargo service with a commitment to offering only the very best Five Star service to the airline's valued customers worldwide. Qatar Airways Cargo will add new aircraft to its fleet and more freighter destinations will be added in 2013. It currently serves 41 dedicated freighter routes with seven cargo aircraft to destinations within Qatar Airways' global operations, including those not served by scheduled passenger flights. (END)