Qatar Airways adds one more Doha-Mombasa flight

Qatar Airways will increase Doha-Mombasa flights to five weekly from the current four flying families that have made Mombasa their end-year pilgrimage destination.

The global airline with 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) that fly to more than 160 destinations worldwide said the changes affecting the Mombasa-Doha route take effect on December 20.

The airline that currently operates a total of 25 weekly flights between Doha and Kenya.

Made the disclosure when its staff led by Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam Al Shawa surprised Wema Centre’s 130 children with gift packages and n arranged tour to one of their aircrafts at Mombasa International Airport in Kenya last week.

“Corporate social responsibility is at the heart of everything we do. We are delighted to be a part of this initiative that we hope brings joy to the children at the Wema Centre. Globally, we are proud to support the Box of Happiness initiative to deliver toys to children in need,” she said.

Qatar Airways launched Doha-Mombasa flights last year following rising demand from customers who have made it a tradition to enjoy end-year festivities on the popular Indian Ocean beaches along the Kenyan coast.

According to Economic review 2019, Mombasa’s Moi International Airport received 25.8 percent more visitors in 2018 to stand at 138,000, a higher growth rate than Nairobi’s JKIA airport whose arrivals grew by a paltry 18.3 percent to stand at 1.4 million arrivals.

The review noted holidaymakers accounted for 73.9 percent of all international arrivals in 2018 while those on business accounted for 12.7 percent.

Ms Shawa said the airline has added a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network this year to include Rabat(Morocco), Langkawi(Malaysia),Izmir(Turkey),Malta, Davao(Philippines), Lisbon(Portugal), Mogadishu(Somalia) and Davao City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

“The airline will add Gaborone, Botswana, in 2019 to its extensive route network along with Luanda, Angola; and Osaka, Japan, in 2020,” she said.

The gifts were donated by the Qatari charity Box of Happiness, which is a youth-led initiative where children in Qatar gift their old toys to their peers in other parts of the world. The charity is supported by Qatar Airways, with its subsidiary, Qatar Airways Cargo, delivering the boxes.

The airline currently operates a total of 25 weekly flights between Doha and Kenya, including three daily flights between Doha and Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, and four weekly flights to Mombasa.

The Wema Centre is a charitable organisation founded in 1993 that operates in both the Mombasa and Thika districts of Kenya, and is headquartered in Mombasa. The charity is involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and training of children in need.

It offers a variety of services ranging from child residential care, health care, psycho-social support, remedial and formal educational support, vocational training, and community outreach services.

Corporate social responsibility is an essential part of Qatar Airways’ values as it continues to support the Educate-A-Child programme, which helps provide quality primary school education to millions of out-of-school children globally.

The airline also partnered with Doha’s Shafallah Centre, Qatar’s special needs association, to provide special needs adults with employment opportunities at Qatar Airways.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax.

It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qatar Airways is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.