The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Canberra, the capital city of Australia, touched down on Monday 12th February at Canberra Airport, where it was welcomed with a celebratory water cannon salute. Qatar Airways flight QR906 departed Hamad International Airport on Sunday 11th February at 07.55 and arrived at Canberra Airport at 08.35 on Monday morning.
Onboard the inaugural flight, H.E. Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group, was joined by H.E. Axel Wabenhorst, Australian Ambassador to the State of Qatar. The VIP delegation was greeted on arrival by Hon Steven Ciobo, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment; H.E. Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Australia; Andrew Barr MLA, Chief Minister, Australian Capital Territory; and Terry Snow, Chairman, Canberra Airport.
Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to be expanding its reach in Australia by launching our fifth gateway into this beautiful country. In 2016, we launched flights to Sydney and Adelaide, clearly demonstrating our commitment to the people of Australia. We are extremely happy to be offering our loyal Australian passengers the chance to explore the newest and most exciting destinations we have added to our global network in the past year, including many European cities such as Dublin, Kyiv, Prague and St Petersburg.
“We are also confident that Australian travellers will be as excited as we are about our many upcoming new destinations set to launch this year, including Cardiff, the UK; Malaga, Spain; and Mykonos, Greece.”
Andrew Barr, who welcomed the arrival of the second international airline to service the capital, said: “It is wonderful that Qatar Airways has made the decision to come to Canberra in 2018 – a year in which our city was recognised as the third best city in the world to visit by Lonely Planet.”
Stephen Byron, Managing Director, Canberra Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome Qatar Airways to Canberra Airport, the second international airline to come to Canberra. For the first time, Canberrans and around one million people living in our wider region will now have daily access to Qatar Airways’ global network of more than 150 destinations, via a short stopover in Sydney.”
Qatar Airways will operate its daily Canberra service with a B777 aircraft, which features 42 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 316 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system offering a wide variety of entertainment options.
