Qatar Airways QR1459 operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft marked the first flight from Doha to Mogadishu and landed on Monday at Aden Adde International Airport, inaugurating the airline's first gateway to Somalia.

VIPs present to greet the flight included HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Somalia Hassan bin Hamza Hashem; HE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia Ahmed Issa Awad; HE Minister of Air Transport and Aviation of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Salad and a large number of other high ranking Somali government officials.

The award-winning airline will operate the new service as a tagged flight to its existing operations to Djibouti. The three weekly flights will stop-over in Djibouti before commencing the final leg of the journey to Doha.

H.E. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: "This is an exciting time for both Qatar Airways and the people of Somalia, who are now able to seamlessly travel to key business and leisure destinations across Asia and Europe, with a connection time of just under two hours. We are delighted to launch our new services from Mogadishu, and we look forward to welcoming all passengers on board, where they can experience the airline's award-winning product and service."

The new route will be operated by an Airbus A320, with 12 Business Class seats and 132 Economy Class seats, with a flight time from Doha of nearly eight hours.

Flights from Mogadishu will land in Doha at midnight, offering seamless connectivity to key markets in China and Europe, all of which are scheduled for early morning departures.

Source: QNA
Image Credit: Guy

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Abdullah Amir

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