Qatar Airways has expanded its services in Nigeria by making four weekly flights to Kano (KAN) and three weekly flights to Port Harcourt (PHC) available for travellers.
Disclosing this development on its official website, Qatar stated that the newly-introduced flights would commence from Wednesday, March 2, 2022, for the Kano routes and Thursday, March 3, for the Port Harcourt route.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that Kano and Port Harcourt would become the seventh and eighth new African gateways launched by the airline since the COVID-19 pandemic started; with the commencements of operations in both routes, the airline would be operating a total of 188 weekly flights to 28 destinations in the continent.
Currently running the airline, which is currently running two daily flights to Lagos and four times a week to Abuja, would now begin a daily service in two months time.
Speaking on the newly-introduced routes, Akbar Al Baker, the Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said the development is a perfect opportunity to grow traffic in both states, adding that remarkable growth potential for travel and trade in Nigeria have now been given a boost.
Baker’s words: “The airline was one of the few to keep operating to many African destinations throughout the pandemic and, as restrictions are lifted, is continuing to expand its network on the continent. As home to the largest economy and population in the region, we see tremendous growth potential for travel and trade in Nigeria.
“It is a key market and an important part of our African growth strategy; the expansion of our presence across two new gateways is a testament to our continuous commitment to Nigeria.
“We anticipate good reciprocal demand between Port Harcourt, UK, USA and destinations across Asia. For Kano we see the opportunity to grow traffic to and from markets such as KSA and India, as well as strong cargo prospects.”
