Cargo handled by Qatar Airways reached 2.7 million tonnes freight in 2020-21

In 2020-21, Qatar Airways Cargo saw a 4.6 per cent increase in freight tonnes handled. Qatar Airways Annual Report 2021 reveals that it handled 2,727,986 tonnes in the preceding fiscal year. “This exceptional increase in freight handled also saw cargo revenues more than double,” the report added.

According to the report, the carrier assisted in the delivery of approximately 500,000 tonnes of medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and aid from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

As global air freight capacity fell sharply at the onset of the pandemic, Qatar Airways Cargo continued to operate its entire freighter fleet, as well as belly-hold flights and passenger freighters, to keep global supply chains running. According to the report, the cargo carrier has transformed six Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes into small freighters to help support the worldwide air freight industry.

As a result of the pandemic, the airline operated 183 flights per day during May 2020, a record for the airline. “In total, Qatar Airways Cargo operated more than 1,100 charters during 2020/21. This agility, resiliency, determination and innovative thinking saw the airline continue to be the world’s largest air cargo carrier, accounting for 9 per cent of the market share in March 2021, according to IATA data.”