Hosia Mviringi
Qatar Airlines, one of the biggest and most prominent gulf airlines have made good on their promise made in June 2021 to begin scheduled flights into Harare.
The inaugural flight which landed in Harare yesterday August 6, 2021 mid-morning was an Airbus A350 which flew from the Middle-East flight hub of Doha’s Hamad International Airport via Lusaka.
The flight was under the command of Zimbabwean pilot Captain Maxwell Chikava.
In a short speech, Qatar Airways Vice President for Africa, Mr Hedrick Du Preeze said they have been eyeing the route for a while.
”On behalf of Qatar Airways it gives me great pleasure to connect Harare to our network and bring your home to ours. To commemorate our inaugural flight to Harare, Zimbabwe’s son Captain Maxwell Chikava brought in the first flight from Doha to Harare”.
The airline which is barely three decades old has grown to become one of the dominant and most respected airlines in the world.
With a complement of more than 200 fairly new aircraft, a clean safety record and a staff compliment which touches more than 50,000 lives worldwide, Qatar are poised for world dominance.
Today marked the beginning of a scheduled three weekly flight frequency which could be increased depending on route performance.
The airline flies into Harare on Monday’s, Friday’s and Sunday’s departing same day.
The launch of the flights by the airline could not have come at a more appropriate time as Zimbabwe is looking to creep out of the Covid-19 economic hiatus, with tourism and hospitality as key driver.
The country is aiming for a comprehensive Covid-19 national herd immunity by year end, making Zimbabwe a safe destination for visitors.
This commitment, as reflected in the government’s resolve to procure enough vaccines for the entire population, is aimed at making the travel and hospitality sector a leader in the economic recovery of the country.
Qatar Airlines is set to connect travellers and tourists to Zimbabwe from its worldwide network of more than 140 destinations.
Lately, several leading airlines have made a beeline to Zimbabwe into different destinations chief among them Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
The government has embraced an open skies policy which is aimed at making it easy for international and local airlines to fly into and around the country.
Zimbabwe’s central geographical location makes the dream of becoming the Southern African air connectivity and logistics hub a possibility.
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