Qatar Airways has announced it would operate four weekly flights to Accra, Ghana, via Lagos from 29 September 2020, becoming the fourth new destination launched by the national carrier of the State of Qatar since the start of the pandemic.

The Accra service would be operated by the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, an official statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday, said.

Qatar Airways Vice-President, Africa, Mr. Hendrik Du Preez said: “We are delighted to land in Accra today. Qatar Airways has wanted to operate flights to Accra for some time and while the pandemic has slightly delayed these plans, it has not stopped us from fulfilling our commitment to passengers in Ghana and around the world.

"As one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, known for its local hospitality and highly sought after agricultural exports, I am certain Accra will grow to be an important destination in our network.

"With flights to more than 28 destinations in Asia-Pacific, 31 in Europe, 12 in the Middle East and nine in North America, passengers wanting to travel to or from Ghana can now enjoy seamless connectivity via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport.

"We look forward to working closely with our partners in Ghana to steadily grow this route and support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region.”

For his part, Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) Managing Director, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa said: “As Operators and Managers of Kotoka International Airport (KIA), GACL is delighted about Qatar Airways’ announcement to launch passenger flight operations to Accra.

"We welcome this long-awaited decision, which will expand seat capacity and offer greater connectivity options to destinations across the world for the travelling public.

"We believe, that together, we can achieve GACL’S vision of positioning Ghana as the Preferred Aviation Hub and Leader in Airport Business in West Africa.”

By mid-October, Qatar Airways will operate 47 weekly flights to 15 destinations in Africa, including Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Entebbe, Kigali, Kilimanjaro, Lagos, Maputo, Mogadishu, Nairobi, Seychelles, Tunis, Windhoek and Zanzibar.

In line with the airline’s expanding operations across Africa, passengers can look forward to a flavour of African hospitality onboard with the carrier’s multi-cultural cabin crew including more than 30 African nationalities.
Additionally, passengers across our network can also enjoy a variety of African movies, TV shows and music on Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system.

According to the latest IATA data, Qatar Airways has become the largest international carrier between April to July by fulfilling its mission of taking people home.

This enabled the airline to accumulate unmatched experience in carrying passengers safely and reliably and uniquely positioned the airline to effectively rebuild its network.

The carrier has stringently implemented the most advanced safety and hygiene measures on board its aircraft and in Hamad International Airport.

Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew include the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers.

Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy this award-winning business seat provides, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator.

Qsuite is available on flights to more than 30 destinations including Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York. For full details of all the measures that have been implemented onboard and in HIA, please visit qatarairways.com/safety.

Qatar Airways operations are not dependent on any specific aircraft type. The airline’s variety of modern fuel-efficient aircraft has meant it can continue flying by offering the right capacity in each market.

Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline has decided to ground its fleet of Airbus A380s as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market.

The airline’s fleet of 49 Airbus A350 and 30 Boeing 787 are the ideal choice for the most strategically important long-haul routes to Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.

Qatar Airways’ home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), has implemented stringent cleaning procedures and applied social distancing measures throughout its terminals.

Passenger touchpoints are sanitised every 10-15 minutes and boarding gates and bus gate counters are cleaned after each flight.

In addition, hand sanitizers are provided at immigration and security screening points. HIA was recently ranked “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. HIA was also voted the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the fifth year in a row.